The law of tort encompasses a number of civil wrongs (other than a breach of contract) for which the law allows a remedy.  Most importantly, in practice, it allows those who have been negligently injured to recover compensation. This module will examine the principles, values and rules governing tortious liability and compensation in relation to the areas of tort studied. The module will also consider criticisms of tort law and the potential for reform.  The law will be examined in its social, political and historical context and the distinction between tort law ‘in the books’ and tort law ‘in action’ will be considered.   

On successful completion of the module a student will be able to:

• Describe the principal characteristics of tortious liability and the objectives of tort;
• Identify, explain and apply the main principles, values and rules governing both liability and compensation in relation to the areas of tort studied with reference to relevant case law, legislation and policy;
• Identify how and why tort law ‘in the books’ can differ from tort law ‘in action’;
• Explain the relationship between the development of the areas of tort studied and their broader social, political, historical and policy context; 
• Critically analyse the areas of tort studied drawing on case law, legislation, policy debates, academic critique and empirical research;
• Describe and evaluate options for the reform of tort.

A mixture of lectures and tutorials

During this module, students will have the opportunity to practice and develop the following skills:

• Without prior instruction, use a range of set primary and secondary materials to identify the legal rules relevant to a particular legal problem or contemporary legal debate, including any relevant law reform proposals;
• Using appropriate legal research methods, build on basic knowledge by independently identifying supplementary primary and secondary legal materials relevant to a particular legal problem or contemporary legal debate, including any relevant law reform proposals;
• Drawing on set and independently identified materials, apply those legal rules to relevant legal problems in written work and in both pre-prepared and spontaneous oral contributions in tutorials;
• Drawing on set and independently identified materials critically analyse aspects of law and evaluate relevant law reform proposals in written work and in both pre-prepared and spontaneous oral contributions in tutorials;
• Reflect on learning by measuring progress against the module’s learning outcomes and use feedback to identify and overcome weaknesses in performance.

Tort Exam 3 hours 100%

iii) Duty of Care

iv) Defences

Tort liability in particular relationships

Damages

i) How damages are assessed: pecuniary and non-pecuniary

ii) How damages are paid: lump sums and periodical payments

Areas of study typically include:

• Introduction to Tort
• Negligence (standard of care; causation; duty of care; defences)
• Tort liability in particular relationships
• Damages (how damages are assessed; how damages are paid)
• Tort law in action (influence of liability insurance on the nature and operation of tort; influence of costs and funding on personal injury practice; the settlement process)
• Objectives of Tort , criticisms and potential reforms
• Nuisance and Rylands v Fletcher

Details of the recommended texts will be available at the beginning of the module.  Students will be referred to texts such as: K. Horsey and E. Rackley, Tort Law (Oxford University Press), and P. Cane, Atiyah’s Accidents, Compensation and the Law (Cambridge University Press).

Students will also be referred to a range of other sources including case law, legislation, policy documents and academic research.  The actual sources are subject to change and will depend on legal and political developments.  A sample reading list for tutorials is available on request.