Tort

In the common law, a tort is a civil wrong for which the law provides a remedy. The origins of the modern law of torts lie in the old remedies of trespass and trespass on the case. The term itself comes from Law French and means, literally, 'a wrong' (avoir tort = "to be wrong" or "to have wronged "). The equivalent body of law in civil law legal systems is delict.

Purposes of torts

The law of torts determines whether a loss that befalls one person should or should not be shifted to another person. Some of the consequences of injury or death, such as medical expenses incurred, can be made good by payment of damages. Damages may also be paid, for want of a better means of compensation, for non-pecuniary consequences, such as pain.

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In "The Aims of the Law of Tort" (1951) Glanville Williams saw four possible bases on which different torts rested: appeasement, justice, deterrence and compensation. The law tends to emphasise different aims in relation to intentional torts from those in relation to negligence or strict liability. After Williams' article, there grew up a school of economic analysts of law who emphasized incentives and deterrence.

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