Delict Introduction Flashcards
What is a delict?
Breach of a legal duty that results in harm.
How does delict work?
When you wrong someone it generates a personal right to make reparation to them
What are voluntary obligations?
Voluntary obligations are obligations we choose to take on, we have done something to create the obligation i.e (contract)
What are obediential obligations?
- Obligations that we just have naturally, law that we must obey without having done anything
- Obligations you have due to your actions but you don’t necessarily want to have them
What is the law of delict then?
The law of obligations. When you wrong someone it creates a personal right to make reparation to them
Explain an example of obediential rights
We all have an obligation not to assault one another. If that right is breached, it is a wrong(delinquency). That wrong generates a second obligation of reparation. Law of delict is about these two.
What are the two possible responses to delict?
Interdict (courts acknowledge the wrongful conduct, tell them to stop)
Damages (pay compensation for the harm done)
What separates delict from criminal law?
Delict is a civil wrong, not a crime. Concerned with compensation rather than punishment.
Can be both delict and criminal claims but they are separate.
What interests does delict protect?
physical, mental harm, economic and property interests. emotional integrity?
Describe strict liability
In some types of wrongs, the pursuer needs only prove that the defender caused harm, not necessarily that they were at fault. If you did it and loss flowed from it, you are liable
Describe fault based liability
The defender is proved to not only have caused harm but behaved culpably in doing so. May be intentional or not, but they behaved negligently
What are the essential elements for the remedy of damages?
Must show: A loss to the pursuer, a wrong by the defender and a causal link between the two
remoteness: closeness between the loss and the wrong
defences
What are the essential elements for the remedy of interdict?
A wrong being done or reasonable worry that one will be done
Public interest
Cameron v Hamilton Auction Marts 1955 SLT (Sh Ct) 74
cow being sent to Auction Mart
Cow managed to escape and climb a flight of stairs within a property, knock off the tap and flood the property before falling through the floor into the shop below
Shop-owner did not recover damages
What was the reasoning behind the judgement in Cameron v Hamilton Auction Marts
Need for an established wrong for damages to be awarded
Need to show their conduct was wrongful
No precedent to go off of
