Article by Michael Wright, Q.C.
As with all systems stemming from the English common law, the earliest basis for civil liability for personal injury or death was that of tort and delict. In its original sense, "tort" meant any wrong; in its legal sense, it has come to mean any wrongful act or omission, other than a breach of contract, causing loss or injury and in respect of which damages can be claimed by the victim from the wrongdoer or "tortfeasor." While the overall scope of both tort and delict is much wider than their application to cases of personal injury and death, they remain, in the United Kingdom, the primary basis for compensation for such wrongs. This has remained so notwithstanding the development of a system providing at least partial relief against the consequences of such injuries which has no basis in "fault" or "wrong" on the part of anyone. While there have been a few areas in which, by statute or by the judicial development of law, the concept of strict liability has been introduced into the system, the general basis of liability in the United Kingdom for injuries of this kind remains, to a remarkable extent, the concept of fault or blameworthiness.
About the Author
Michael Wright, Q.C. M.A. (Oxon.), Q.C.; London barrister.
Citation
55 Tul. L. Rev. 1200 (1981)