I. Definition & Essentials of
Tort.
I. Introduction.
The
word tort is of French
origin and is equivalent of the English word wrong. It is derived from the Latin word tortum, which
means twisted or crooked. It implies conduct that is twisted or crooked.
Tort is commonly used to mean a breach of duty amounting to a civil wrong.
A tort arises due to a person’s
duty to others which is created by one law or the other. A person who
commits a tort is known as a tortfeaser, or a wrongdoer. Where
they are more than one, they are called joint tortfeaser. Their
wrongdoing is called tortuous act and
they are liable to be sued jointly and severally.
The principle aim of the Law of
tort is compensation for victims or their dependents. Grants of exemplary
damages in certain cases will show that deterrence of wrong doers is also
another aim of the law of tort.
II.
Meaning of Tort:
At a general level,
tort is concerned with allocation of responsibility for losses, which are bound
to occur in society. Tort is a branch of law governing actions for damages for
injuries to private legal rights of a person, say, right to property, right to
personal security, right to reputation, etc.,
III.
Definition.
Salmond-
It is a civil wrong for which the remedy is a common law action for
unliquidated damages and which is not exclusively the breach of a trust or
other merely equitable obligation.
Winfield “Tortuous liability arises from the
breach of a duty primarily fixed by law; this duty is towards persons generally
and its breach is redressible by an action for unliquidated damages.”
Fraser:
A tort is an infringement of a legal right in rem of a private individual,
giving a right of compensation of the suit of the injured party.
IV.
Objectives of Law of Torts
• to determine the rights between
parties to dispute
• to protect certain rights recognized
by law
• to prevent the continuation or
repetition of a harm
• to restore the property to its
rightful owner
V.
Essentials/ingredients/elements/components/ general conditions of tort.
If the plaintiff wants
to claim compensation, then he must prove all the essentials of the tort.
Following are the essentials of tort which the plaintiff has to prove.
A.
Wrongful Act
To determine Liabilities in tort it must be
proved that the act or omission done by the one person was a wrongful. The act
or omission must be legally wrongful. Violation of moral, social &
religious rights does not come under the category of torts.
B.
Legal Damage
Another
essential element is wrongful act or omission committed by one person must
result in legal damages to the other i.e. such act or omission resulted into
violation of legal rights of another person.
The
sum of money awarded by court to compensate damage is called damages. Damage
means the loss or harm caused or presumed to be suffered by a person as a
result of some wrongful act of another. Legal damage is not the same as actual
damage. In other words legal damage means the loss which results from the
violation of legal right.
The
real significance of legal damage is illustrated by two maxims namely: Injuria sine damno and Damnum sine injuria
C.
Legal Remedy –
The law of torts is
said to be a development of the maxim ‘ubi jus ibi remedium’ or ‘there is
no wrong without a remedy’. If a man has a right, he must of necessity have a
means to vindicate and maintain it and a remedy if he is injured in the
exercise or enjoyment of it; and indeed it is a vain thing to imagine a right
without remedy; want of right and want of remedy are reciprocal.
Where there is no legal
remedy there is no wrong. But even so the absence of a remedy is evidence but
is not conclusive that no right exists.
VI.
Conclusion
It is concluded that whenever by the
wrongful act of one person another person’s legal right is violated, such
another person can claim compensation. It means if the plaintiff wants to claim
compensation he must prove all the essentials of tort.
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