Fault

• Where does fault lie in negligence?

  Breaching a duty of care owed to the victim
• Which cases tell us the defendant can have different levels of fault?

  Paris and Latimer
• When can fault be transferred from one person to another?

  Vicarious liability
• When can fault be shared between the two parties?

  Contributory Negligence
• What is a tort requiring no fault, i.e. strict liability tort?

  Rylands V Fletcher
• What two types offences don't require fault?

  Strict Liability offences

  Absolute Liability offences
• Why are Strict/Absolute liability offences there?

  To regulate society and protect the vulnerable
• Why are Strict/Absolute liability offences strictly monitored?

  So people are not unjustly found guilty over an offence they had no control over
• What do levels of fault reflect?

  How seriously the crime is viewed
• In crime, there are different levels of fault
• Sentencing reflects the fault of the defendant and not what happened to the victim
• Fault can be reduced or removed if the defendant successfully pleads a defence
• What are examples of defences that reduce a defendant's fault?

  Loss of control, diminished responsibility
• What are examples of defences that remove a defendant's fault?

  Self-defence, insanity, automatism, duress
• Why is fault necessary in criminal law?

  To justify sentencing
• It wouldn't be possible to have a criminal legal system without fault
• A criminal system without some regulatory offences without fault would grind to a halt
• Why, without regulatory offences requiring no fault, would a criminal system criminal grind to a halt?

  The courts would be too full
• What is fault defined as?

  Legal blameworthiness and responsibility