Statutory criteria : Where civil actions are brought for breach of statutory duty the claimant has to establish that the statutory duty has been broken. The claimant has, therefore, to satisfy the court that the defendant has failed to achieve the standard required by the particular statutory duty. Traditionally many statutory duties have, in criminal law, imposed strict liability. A much

doi:10.4324/9781843140504-60

Chapter

ABSTRACT

Where civil actions are brought for breach of statutory duty the claimant has to establish that the statutory duty has been broken. The claimant has, therefore, to satisfy the court that the defendant has failed to achieve the standard required by the particular statutory duty. Traditionally many statutory duties have, in criminal law, imposed strict liability. A much litigated statutory provision was s 14(1) of the Factories Act 1961, which provided that:

Every dangerous part of any machinery, other than prime movers and transmission machinery, shall be securely fenced unless it is in such a position or of such construction as to be as safe to every person employed or working on the premises as it would be if securely fenced.