Liability and Obligation.pptx

LAW

1. OBLIGATIONS

2. Obligation in general sense means a duty. Under jurisprudence, obligation means: A duty in personam . A legal bond or vinculum juris Proprietary right in personam

3. SOLIDARY OBLIGATIONS Ordinarily in an obligation, there will be one creditor, and one debtor. An obligation in which two or more debtors owe the same debt to the same creditor is called a solidary obligation. Solidary obligations are classified into:- Several – Two or more persons owe the same thing to the same creditor under different transaction. Joint – Two or more persons are bound to the same creditors for the same thing by the same transaction. Joint and Several – Two or more debtors are bound to the same creditors for the same thing by the same transaction but the law would treat the obligation as several for certain legal purposes.

4. SOURCES OF OBLIGATIONS Contractual – Created by consent of parties Delictal – Arising from torts Quasi-contractual - Not contractual p er se Innominate- Residuary class of obliugations

5. LIABILITY

6. Liability or responsibility is the bond of necessity that exists between the wrongdoer and the remedy of the wrong. Two kinds of Liability:- Civil/Remedial Liability Penal Liability

7. CIVIL/REMEDIAL LIABILITY Creation of a duty correspondingly creates provision for enforcement. Liability to be compelled by law to fulfil legal duties is called remedial liability. It is to remedy the injury caused by non-observance of a duty. Exceptions: Imperfect duties in which specific enforcement is not possible. Eg: Time-barred debts. Irrevocable wrongs which cannot be undone. Eg: Criminal assault, published libel. Other remedies allowed by law.

8. PENAL LIABLITY Penal liability arises when its purpose involves punishment of the wrongdoer for the wrong. All criminal liabilities are penal. Actus non facit rem, nisi mens sit rea – Act alone does not amount to guilt; it must be accompanied by a guilty mind. Two essential conditions for establishing criminal liability actus reus mens rea Penal liability is imposed on a person when the two elements are present and proved beyond doubt.

9. ACTS Acts constitute the basis of liability. An act is any event, which is subject to the control of human will. Acts are classified as: Positive Act – Commission of an act Negative Act – Omission of an act. Internal Act- Act of the mind, such as thoughts. External Act – Acts of the body, such as physical act. Intentional Act A- An act done expecting a particular consequence. Unintentional Act – An act, the result of which is not of conscious desire.

10. Mens rea Mens rea refers to the state of mind of a person committing a wrong. According to John Austin, intention or negligence is a necessary component of injury or wrong, guilt or imputability of breach, or violation of duty or obligation. With regard to mens rea , wrongs are classified as: Intentional wrongs Negligence Wrongs of Absolute liabilty

11. INTENTIONAL WRONG An intention is the purpose or design with which an act is done. According to Salmond, “Intention is the foresight of a desired issue however improbable and not the foresight of an undesirable issue however probable.” Every crime under IPC 1860 passes through four stages. Intention Preparation Attempt Successful completion Narayanaswamy v. Emperor AIR 1932 Mad 507 Necessity is an exception- R v. Dudley – Jus necessitatis Mistake – R v. Prince

12. NEGLIGENCE Negligence is culpable carelessness. Negligence means a non-intentional failure to conform to the conduct of a reasonable man in respect of the consequence in question and therefore involves both subjective and objective inquiry. Negligence may vary in degree, hence duty to take definitive care and standard of care are determining factors in case of negligence.

13. ABSOLUTE LIABILITY Absolute liability or the wrongful acts for which a man is responsible irrespective of the existence of either wrongful intent or negligence. Exception to Actus non facit rem, nisi mens sit rea. The chief instances of absolute liability are divided into : Mistake of law – Ignorantia juris non excusat State of Maharshtra v. George AIR 1965 SC 722 Mistake of fact is a defence under criminal liability. Foster’s case 265 KGC 27 Accident- Every act which is not done intentionally is done either accidentally or by mistake. Strict liability is an exception to the rule. Rylands v. Fletcher (1868) LR 3 HL 330