unit 2 aos1 Flashcards
civil law
an area of law that defines the rights and responsibilities of individuals, groups and organisations in society and regulates civil disputes
civil liability
the legal responsibility of a party for loss or harm caused to another party because of a breach of civil law
tort (+4 examples)
a wrong that interferes with a person’s legally protected interests. includes negligence, defamation, nuisance and tresspassing
sue
the legal action of the plaintiff against the defendant
remedy
the award to the plaintiff if the defendant is found liable for civil wrong. usually in the form of money (damages/compensation), but can be an injunction (court order)
litigation
legal action taken through the court system
counterclaim
legal action taken by the defendant against the plaintiff in response to the same case
out of court settlement
litigation has begun but the parties agree to settle the dispute out of the courts, usually with the payment of money.
negotiation
talking with the other party to come to an agreement on how to fix the problem
dispute resolution
such as mediation. the parties talk to determine a solution to the problem without courts becoming involved
the purposes of civil law (4)
achieve social cohesion, protects the rights of individuals, enables people to pursue justice, provides a remedy
how can civil law achieve social cohesion?
guides what is acceptable behaviour
how can civil law protect?
Protect the rights of individuals – e.g., the right to be protected from false statements
how can civil law enable people to seek justice?
Enable people to pursue justice and seek compensation when civil law has been breached (broken) – courts, tribunals, complaints bodies, ombudsmen etc. are specialist dispute resolution bodies.
how can civil law provide remedies?
Provide a remedy (compensation) for the infringement of individual rights – remedies may be financial (i.e., damages) or non-financial (an injunction to start or stop doing something)
contract law
aims to ensure that people who make promises under a contract fulfil those promises, or else they may have to compensate the other party to the contract if they fail to comply with it
negligence
a type of tort that involves a breach of duty of care, causing loss or harm
nuisance
a type of tort that involves interference with a person’s right to use and enjoy private property
defamation
a type of tort that involves the action of damaging a person’s personal or professional reputation
tresspass
a type of tort involving the interference with or intrusion upon a person’s body, property or goods without the consent of that person
5 concepts of civil law
breach, causation, loss, limitation of actions, balance of probabilities
breach
the breaking of or failure to fulfil or comply with a duty of obligation
causation
the direct relationship between one event and another where event 1 was the reason event 2 happened, and event 2 wouldn’t of happened by itself
loss
a type of harm or damage suffered by a person, it can involve both economic and non-economic loss
limitation of actions
the restriction on bringing a civil law claim after the allowed time
balance of probabilities
the standard of proof required in civil disputes. this requires the plaintiff to establish that it is more probable than not, that their claim is true
possible plaintiffs in a civil case (2)
aggrieved party, other victims
aggreived party
The aggrieved party is the person whose rights have been infringed and who has suffered loss. It is possible for a civil action to include more than one aggrieved person
class action
a group of seven or more people who have a claim against the same person based on similar or related facts bring that claim to court in the name of one person
other victims
A plaintiff can be a person who has indirectly suffered loss as a result of the actions of another party.
possible defendants (3)
the wrongdoer, employers, persons involved in the wrongdoing
vicarious liability
the legal responsibility of a third party for the wrongful acts of another (e.g. an employer’s liability for what their employees do)
accessorial liability
the responsibility imposed on one person for the wrongdoing of another, (e.g. where the first person encourages the other person to cause harm)
remedy
any order made by a court designed to adress a civil wrong or breach or a breach. should be a legal solution for the plaintiff.
what does the law of negligence aim to? (2)
protect an individual’s right to be safe from harm, allow parties to seek an appropriate remedy against those who breached a duty of care
4 elements required to establish liability for negligence
the defendant owed a duty of care, the defendant breached the duty of care, the defendant was the causation, plaintiff suffered injury, loss or damage
when does a person owe a duty of care (2)
the risk of harm was foreseeable, a reasonable person in the same circumstances would of taken precautions to eliminate the risk of harm
breach of a duty of care
The duty is breached when a person fails to do what a reasonable person would have done
2 defences to a negligence claim
contributory negligence & assumption of risk
contributory negligence (negligence defence)
a defence that can be used by a defendant who alleges that the plaintiff contributed to the harm caused by the defendant. if proved, it may reduce the damages the defendant has to pay.
assumption of risk (negligence defence)
a defence in which the defendant claims that the plaintiff accepted the dangers of a known and understood risk, either expressly or by implication
exceptions to negligence (3)
consumers can sign a waiver stating that they accept responsibility for any injuries suffered, a good samaritan’s acts, volunteers.
compensatory damages (3 examples)
an amount of money awarded to a plaintiff
for harm, injury, or other losses suffered. It includes general damages, special damages, and aggravated damages
special damages
the amount of money that one party is ordered to pay to another party to compensate for losses that are easily quantifiable (e.g. medical expenses or loss of wages)
general damages
a type of remedy that requires the payment of a sum of money to compensate for loss that cannot easily be quantified (e.g. pain and suffering)
aggravated damages
an amount of money that a defendant may be ordered to pay when a plaintiff has suffered extreme humiliation, embarrassment or insult because of the defendant’s conduct
impacts of negligence on the plaintiff (5)
loss of life, permanent/serious physical injury, loss of wages, unemployment, effect on mental health
impacts of negligence on the defendant (4)
loss of business, public humiliation, costs, need to sell assests
5 rights protected by defamation laws
the right to freedom of expression, the right to be considered of good character and reputation, the right to have your reputation protected by placing limits on freedom of expression, the right to seek remedies, the right to disolving a dispute
5 elements required to establish liability for defamation
the statement is defamatory, the statement is untrue, the statement refers to the plaintiff, the statement has been published, the defamatory material has caused harm to the reputation of the plaintiff
limitation of actions in defamation cases
an action for defamation must be brought within one year from the date of the publication of the defamatory material
8 defences to a defamation claim
justification, contextual truth, absolute privilege, publication of public documents, fair report of proceedings of public conern, public interest, honest opinion, innocent dissemination
justification (defamation defence)
applies when a defamatory statement is substantially true (majority of the statement is true)
contextual truth (defamation defence)
the defamatory statements do not further harm the reputation of the plaintiff.
absolute privilege (defamation defence)
gives a defendant complete immunity from being sued in certain cases. may be able to use the defence where they can prove that the defamatory statement was published to the public
publication of public documents (defamation defence)
can be applied if the published statement was a fair copy, summary or extract of a public document, but only if the statement was published for the public or for educational purposes.
Fair report of proceedings of public concern (defamation defence)
can argue that the statement is a fair report of proceedings, and that the report was published for the public’s information or for educational purposes.
public interest (defamation defence)
aimed at protecting the publication of matters that concern an issue of public interest, and the defendant reasonably believed that the publication of the matter was in the public interest.
honest opinion (defamation defence)
A defendant may claim that the defamatory material is an expression of their honest opinion rather than a statement of fact. The matter must be of public interest and the opinion must be based on proper material.
Innocent dissemination (defamation defence)
protects people who may unknowingly distribute defamatory information, such as printing companies, booksellers, libraries, and internet or email providers
injunction
a remedy in the form of a court order requiring the defendant to do something or not to do something.
impacts of defamation on the plaintiff (4)
loss of reputation, emotional impact of the defamatory material, loss of wages and livelihood, unemployment
impacts of defamation on the defendant (3)
costs, need to sell assets, public humiliation