This work, dealing with financial claims against government, is set against the background of recent developments in the European Community. It covers in detail the rules governing the civil liability of public bodies, under both domestic law and the law of the EC. As well as discussing general principles, the book also offers chapters devoted to public procurement; employment and the Crown Service; negligence claims against public bodies; compensation for breach of public duties; special government torts; liability under Community law; restitutory claims against government; and Crown proceedings.
Whether, and in what circumstances, public authorities should be held liable for negligence in the performance of their public functions is a highly complex area of the law. Written by Cherie Blair and Dan Squires QC, the first edition of The Negligence Liability of Public Authorities provided a much needed guide to these complexities and offered a detailed account of the law for practitioners and academics. This second edition builds on the reputation of the first, including full coverage of the many important cases which have been decided since 2006. Divided into two parts, Part I focuses on the extent to which the public nature of a defendant affects civil liability and the principles that govern and limit that liability. Part II considers the law as it impacts upon specific areas of public authorities' activities.
This book examines the law on compensation for administrative wrongdoing from a comparative law perspective. Particular account is taken of the increasing influence of human rights law, European Community law and international law.
This is a thorough account of the law on the negligence liability of public authorities, providing practical guidance as well as a clear analysis of this developing area of law.
Whether, and in what circumstances, public authorities should be held liable for negligence in the performance of their public functions is a highly complex area of the law. Written by two leading barristers, the first edition of The Negligence Liability of Public Authorities provided a much needed guide to these complexities and offered a detailed account of the law for practitioners and academics. This second edition builds on the reputation of the first, including full coverage of the many important cases which have been decided since 2006. Divided into two Parts, Part I focuses on the extent to which the public nature of a defendant affects civil liability and the principles that govern and limit that liability. Part II considers the law as it impacts upon specific areas of public authorities' activities. It examines cases in a range of key areas, including the police, social services, highways, education, and the emergency services and aims to set out in a comprehensive way the different legal issues that have arisen in each area. By examining cases in a variety of jurisdictions, including Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and the USA, the authors further broaden the scope of this authoritative text. The book also identifies the underlying principles and policy arguments which have shaped the law more generally, making it an extremely useful resource for a wide variety of practitioners.
Understanding case law in high-liability areas and performing the job within a legal framework places a criminal justice agency in the best position to defend against a lawsuit. This handbook addresses the problems confronting criminal justice practitioners and their agencies due to the ever-increasing number of civil liability lawsuits. It introduces the reader to civil liability generally and the federal law specifically, while indicating the steps that can be taken to minimize the risk of litigation. Civil Liability in Criminal Justice is one of very few texts on the subject that combines applicable case law and related liability research, a valuable feature for current and future policy makers and managers. Ross also provides an overview of current case law in high-liability areas, enhancing student knowledge and practitioner job performance.
Liability and Environment analyzes the role of law, in particular civil liability, in controlling environmental pollution and risk. In modern environmental policy, liability has become a popular instrument. In this book, Prof. Bergkamp takes a fresh look at civil liability for environmental harm in an inter- and transnational context. Over the last decade, industry's liability exposure for environmental harm has expanded significantly. At the international, EC, and national level proposals for onerous strict environmental liability regimes are pending. The `polluter pays principle', which is an articulation of the `cost internalization' theory in the environmental area, is believed to justify such liability regimes. Applying an instrumental approach to legal instruments, Prof. Bergkamp aims to redefine the role of liability in the heavily regulated environmental area. He shows that liability for environmental harm is not justified by the polluter pays principle, is an uncertain and unreliable instrument for achieving prevention, results in an inefficient insurance scheme, and plays a dubious role in adjusting activity levels. Based on an analysis of the basic characteristics of alternative legal instruments, Prof. Bergkamp concludes that civil liability should play a more modest, limited role in an environmental law system dominated by public law. Where deterrence is not the objective, first party insurance, compensation funds, or other public law regimes should be preferred over liability rules. In addition to civil liability of private parties, Liability and Environment discusses State liability under international, EC, and national law. Under international law, breach of a primary obligation triggers a State's liability. Prof. Bergkamp argues that this rule should be applied also to liability of private parties. In the environmental area, a business' primary obligations are spelled out in detailed permit conditions, regulations, and statutes. According to Prof. Bergkamp, only if a primary obligation is breached, a private person should be liable for environmental harm. The system that Bergkamp advocates is an objective fault liability regime, in which public environmental law defines the standard of care for both government and industry. "In rebuilding our civil liability system, we should keep in mind that what is good for industry should be good for everyone (or it is not good for anyone), we should keep in mind that what is good for private parties should be good for the state (or it is not good for either). In rebuilding our civil liability system, the international law of State responsibility, which is unpolluted by risk spreading and activity level considerations, will guide us a long way." This book is aimed at advanced law students, academic scholars, and practitioners. In addition, it will be of interest to policy and legislative analysts, legislators, and government officials. Professor Bergkamp's book cannot be described as "solving" the problems of legal and regulatory control of environmental harm, whether within a nation or internationally. As suggested before, however, the very idea of a "solution" is illusory. All legal and regulatory regimes around the world are today and will remain for the future in a state of perpetually continuing development. The virtue of this fine book is that it moves the process of that development forward by a very substantial measure. from the Foreword by George L. Priest.
This paper examines the difficult issues associated with imposing tortious liability on public authorities at common law, focussing her discussion on negligence. It considers the public and private nature of these bodies and their functions, first examining the possible approaches to treatment of these at common law, and then following the enactment of the civil liability legislation in the various States and Territories. A preferred approach to the determination of tortious liability of public authorities is then offered, which, provided a principled approach is taken to statutory interpretation, will accommodate the civil liability legislation.
