Essentials of tort
Introduction
Tort is a violation of some civil duty. A tort is a civil wrong committed by one party against another party, in which the injured party can take legal action for recovery of damages. Tort has two main objectives, one is compensation of the person wronged for any damages and second objective is to recover money from wrongdoer which is financial punishment for him. Such wrongs against which no compensation is recoverable, is not a tort. The law of tort is based on common law
Meaning of tort
The word tort has been derived from Latin word “Tortum” which means twist
Oxford Dictionary meaning
Tort is a private or civil wrong
Definition of Tort
A tort is an act which injures someone in some way and accordance with the injured person can take legal action against wrongdoer for recovery of damages
Wrongs which are not tort
Following wrongs are not tort while these come under crime category
- Criminal wrongs
- Breach of contracts
- Breach of trust
Example
If A enters into the land of B without permission of B. A has committed tort of trespass.
Kinds of torts
Following are the three kinds of torts. Details are as under
Intentional tort
When a wrongdoer intentionally commits a civil wrong against other person is called intentional tort
Tort based on negligence
Negligent tort is not deliberate actions, when one fails to perform reasonably and becomes reason of civil wrong is called negligence tort
Strict liability torts
Holding of an individual liable for damages without proof is called strict liability torts. It is possible to hold responsible when plaintiff feels that he was under dangerous situation by defendant
Essentials of tort
Following are the essentials of tort
Wrongful act
Wrongful act is an essential of tort. It must be proved that the act done by the wrongdoer was a wrongful act. The violation of religious, social or moral rights does not come under the category of torts
Legal damage
Legal damage is an essential of tort. Wrongful act done by a wrongdoer must result in legal damages of the other person such that act must result in violation of the legal rights of another person.
Legal remedy
Legal remedy is an essential of tort. Legal remedy enables injured person to receive compensation from wrong doer through the court of law
Civil wrong
The tort is civil wrong. Violation should be a civil violation. It should not be a criminal violation because in case of criminal violation. The offender is not punishable under the law of tort
Right legally recognized
The right which has been violated must be a legally recognized right. If it has not been legally recognized it will not be actionable according to the law of tort
Nature of tort
It is difficult to define the nature of the law of tort. The law of tort is a part of civil law, that’s why it has no remedy for all wrongs and for all losses
According to its nature, law of tort determine that when law should grant compensation for damages and when law should not grant compensation for damages
Position in Pakistan
Law of tort has not been a front line subject of our law. Injured persons cannot rely on this law and whenever they want remedy against violation of their rights. This has not been the position in Pakistan alone, many other underdeveloped countries including India show the same picture and law of tort also is not being given importance.
Objectives
The purpose or objectives of the law of tort is the protection of the rights of persons, right of property and right of reputation are included in this law.
The primary objective of the law of tort is to compensate the injured person by the wrongdoer against the violation of his legally recognized right
The secondary objective of the law of tort to build a financial pressure on wrong doer by taking compensation in the form of money for injured person
The third objective of the law of tort is to stop those who intentionally or negligently violates the right of others
Sources of law of tort
Following are the main sources of law of torts
Case laws
Such law which has been created by judicial decisions of former cases is called case law
Statutory provision
When a state or federal legislature passes a law. It is called statutory provisions
Latin Maxims
Such well-known sayings, which expresses a general truth about life or a rule about behavior is called Latin maxims
Conclusion
The law of tort helps to protect the civil rights of the people which has been legally recognized by the law of the state, and enables the injured person to receive compensation from the wrongdoer. The tort is a civil wrong if wrong which is criminal wrong in this case wrongdoer will be punished under the criminal proceedings. The act done by the person must be a wrongful act and must give rise to legal damage as well as legal remedy. The remedy should be imposed through court of law and compensation should be in the form of money