ABSTRACT

Introduction The basis of liability in tort is probably one of the most difficult legal ideas for the layman to grasp. The word itself is of French origin and means a wrong. Basically, the law of tort is concerned with situations where the behaviour of one party causes, or threatens to cause, harm to the interests of another party. The rules of the law of tort determine when one party can be compensated for the behaviour of another. The law of tort is limited in its scope and although new torts do evolve from time to time, there is not necessarily a legal remedy for every wrong suffered. A claimant will only succeed in an action if he can show that the defendant’s behaviour falls into a specified situation covered by the law of tort. Those specified situations are then given identifying names such as the tort of defamation, the tort of nuisance, the tort of negligence and the tort of trespass.