Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A. INTRODUCTION:
As a general rule, a man is liable only for his own acts but there are
certain circumstances in which liabilities attach to him for the wrong
committed by others. This is called various liability. The most
common instances are the liability of the master for wrongs
committed by his servant. In these, liability is joint as well as several.
The plaintiff can sue the actual wrongdoer himself, be he as a servant,
or agent as well as his principal.
1. ACCORDING TO FLEMMING:
“Vicarious Liability is a principle where the law holds one person
responsible for the misconduct of another.”
2. ACCORDING TO SALMOND:
“Vicarious liability is a liability without fault.”
D. PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING THE DOCTRINE OF
VICARIOUS LIABLITY:
The doctrine of vicarious Liability is based on the following
principles:
1. “Respondent Superior.”:
It means that a principal must answer for the acts of his
subordinates.
a. LIABILITY BY RATIFICATION:
1. Meaning:
Ratification is the act of adopting a transaction by a person who
was not bound by it originally because it was entered into by an
unauthorized agent. It is an act of confirmation.
(a) He who acts must purport to act as an agent and must in fact
act as such.
(b) The principal must be in existence at the time of the act
either in fact or in contemplation of law.
(c) The principal must have full knowledge of the facts and the
nature of the act which has been done in his name and on his
behalf. If anyone wants to ratify, he must ratify the act fully,
one cannot choose between benefits and losses arising from
the act. Mistake or ignorance of the principal is no defence
for him.
(d) The act of ratification is equal to a prior command.
(e) The adopter must be competent to do so. The ratifier might
himself have lawfully done the act which he ratifies.
(f) Illegal or void acts cannot be ratified.
(g) Whether the authority to perform the act was given prior or
subsequent to the act is in general immaterial if one acts on
behalf of another.
(h) Ratification relates back to the time when the wrongful act
was done and thereupon becomes equivalent to a previous
command. It may render such an act an Act of State, if
ratification is by a sovereign power.
(i) Ratification does not relieve an agent from liability to third
parties.
(j) Mere passive acquiescence is no authority.
A master is the person who is legally entitled to give the order and
to have them obeyed.
The relation master and servant exist only between the person of
whom the one has the order and control of the work done by the
other.
(3) Essentials:
The person committing the tort must be a servant.
The tort committed by the servant must be in the course of
his employment.
The act must be a wrongful act authorized by the master or a
wrongful and unauthorized mode of same act authorized by
the master.
(1) Meaning:
A person who employees another person to do an act on the basis of contract
is called Employer.
(3) Exceptions:
There are some exceptions to the rule that a person employing is not liable
for his contractor’s workful acts.
c. LIABILITY OF ABETMENT:
Abetment is the act of stirring up or exciting, maintaining,
patronizing, encouraging or setting on. An abettor or is an
instigator or setter who promotes or procures a tort or a wrongful
act to be committed.
For Example:
A person who knowing that a motorist is going to drive,
surreptitiously adds alcohol to his drink so as to bring his blood
alcohol concentration above the statutory limit is guilty of
procuring the subsequent offence. As in crime so in tort abettors
are equally liable with those who commit wrongs.