ABSTRACT
The Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 was passed so that one party liable to a claimant in respect of damage suffered by that claimant could recover a contribution from any other party liable in respect of the same damage. Following a report from the Law Commission in 1977, the right of contribution was widened by the Civil Liability Act 1978 so that it was not limited to contribution between tortfeasors. For a right of contribution to arise both parties, the party seeking contribution and the party from whom contribution is sought must have been "liable" to the original claimant. The chapter confers upon the court a wide discretion to order contribution. In the ordinary case, not involving fraud, causative potency is likely to be the most important factor in the assessment of relative responsibility that the court has to make but blameworthiness is also relevant in exercising what is a general discretion.
