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Breach of statutory duty

Produced in partnership with Professor Richard A Buckley M.A, D.Phil, DCL, Oxford of University of Reading

Practice notes

Breach of statutory duty

Produced in partnership with Professor Richard A Buckley M.A, D.Phil, DCL, Oxford of University of Reading

Practice notes

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This Practice Note considers claims for Damages for Breach of statutory duty. For guidance on claims for damages for a negligent breach of Duty of care outside a statutory duty, see Practice Notes:

•
Negligence—when does a duty of care arise?
•
Negligence—when is the duty of care breached?

Breach of statutory duty—nature of liability

A claimant who suffers loss or injury in circumstances in which the defendant has been in breach of a statutory provision may sometimes be able to claim damages in tort, even if the situation does not fall within the scope of an existing tort such as negligence.

If the statute expressly provides for a claim in damages the position will normally be straightforward.

Whether a claim will be available if there is no such provision is said to depend upon the intention of Parliament, which is to be ascertained by construing the statute in question. Since this intention will not be explicit, the courts have adopted a series of tests or presumptions to

Professor Richard A Buckley, M.A, D.Phil, DCL, Oxford

Barrister (Lincoln's Inn), Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Reading

Professor Buckley is an Emeritus Professor of Law 2008 -. Formerly Professor of Law, University of Reading 1993-2008; Fellow and Tutor in Law, Mansfield College, Oxford 1975-1993; Lecturer in Laws, King's College, London 1970-1975. Leverhulme Research Fellow, 2001. Publications include The Law of Negligence and Nuisance, 5th ed (2011, UU��ֱ��); Illegality and Public Policy, 2nd ed (2009, Sweet & Maxwell); The Law of Nuisance, 2nd ed (1995, Butterworths). Professor Buckley is also a contributing editor to Clerk and Lindsell on Torts, Halsbuy's Laws of England, Atkin's Court Forms, Fleming's The Law of Torts, 10th ed (2011), and formerly to Salmond and Heuston on Torts.

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Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

Breach of statutory duty definition

What does Breach of statutory duty mean?

The tort of breach of statutory duty arises where a statute, which has as its main objective the imposition of a regulatory or criminal law framework, also gives rise to duties in tort.

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