Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Diagrams
- Table of cases
- Table of legislation
- Preface
- 1 What is vicarious liability?
- 2 Establishing a general framework for liability
- 3 The employer/employee relationship: identifying the contract of employment
- 4 Special difficulties: borrowed employees and temporary workers
- 5 Other relationships giving rise to liability
- 6 Acting in the course of one's employment/functions/assigned tasks: determining the scope of vicarious liability
- 7 Parental liability for the torts of their children: a new form of vicarious liability?
- 8 Understanding vicarious liability: reconciling policy and principle
- 9 A postscript: a harmonised European law of vicarious liability?
- Appendix: Key provisions of the French and German Civil Codes
- Index
- Titles in the series
2 - Establishing a general framework for liability
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 November 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Diagrams
- Table of cases
- Table of legislation
- Preface
- 1 What is vicarious liability?
- 2 Establishing a general framework for liability
- 3 The employer/employee relationship: identifying the contract of employment
- 4 Special difficulties: borrowed employees and temporary workers
- 5 Other relationships giving rise to liability
- 6 Acting in the course of one's employment/functions/assigned tasks: determining the scope of vicarious liability
- 7 Parental liability for the torts of their children: a new form of vicarious liability?
- 8 Understanding vicarious liability: reconciling policy and principle
- 9 A postscript: a harmonised European law of vicarious liability?
- Appendix: Key provisions of the French and German Civil Codes
- Index
- Titles in the series
Summary
Introduction
Before examining in detail the conditions for vicarious liability in modern legal systems, it is important, especially in a comparative study, to identify the basic legal framework for such claims. As stated in Chapter 1, the doctrine of vicarious liability, by which we mean strict liability for the tortious acts of another, possesses a similar legal framework whether derived from case law or code. This chapter will therefore examine the fundamental elements of any such claim and clarify the key terminology used, the role of fault and the extent to which the person held strictly liable may require the tortfeasor to indemnify him for compensation paid to the victim. It will conclude with a brief overview of the relationship between liability in tort for the wrongful acts of others and other areas of private law liability, such as contract and criminal law. This is particularly relevant in the context of civilian systems where the relationship between tort and other areas of private law may surprise common lawyers, who take for granted the existence of concurrent liability in contract and tort law, that public authorities should be subject to the ordinary principles of tort law, and that a clear division exists between criminal and civil liability. Whilst in all modern legal systems there is an obvious overlap between tort law and the provisions of social security and insurance law, an understanding of the structure of civilian systems will help the reader understand the legal developments described elsewhere in this book.
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- Vicarious Liability in TortA Comparative Perspective, pp. 21 - 54Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010
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