Unit 3: Tort Liability and Discharge Mechanisms
3.1 The Doctrine of Strict and Absolute Liability
The strict liability’s classic (the famous reservoir case’s rule): the dangerous thing’s escape — the land’s non-natural use — the liability without fault (the three exceptions: the plaintiff’s default, the act of God, the stranger’s act — plus the consent, statutory authority and common benefit faces). The absolute liability’s modern turn (the Bhopal-era rule, by the case’s name): the hazardous-and-inherently-dangerous activity’s liability — no exceptions (the enterprise’s full answer; the social cost’s internalisation). The distinction (the exam’s discriminator): strict = no-fault with defences; absolute = no-fault, no defences. The product liability’s face: the consumers’ strict-liability doctrine (the defective product’s answer — the U5–U6 bridge). The Nepal faces: the environmental wrongs’ strict faces (the Environmental Law interface — LAW5603), the consumer regime’s defective-goods machinery, the Civil Code 2074’s liability provisions.
3.2 Principles of Vicarious Liability and its Scope
The idea: the one answers for another’s wrong — “let the master answer” (the respondeat superior lore). The test: the servant’s wrong in the course of employment (the employer’s answer) vs the independent contractor’s wrongs (the general no-liability, with the exceptions: the authorised-and-forbidden-manner lore, the non-delegable duties — the dangerous operations’ faces). The relationship’s faces: employer-employee; principal-agent; the partners’ mutual answer; the state’s answer (the state liability — the custodial-and-police wrongs; the constitutional layer of U1.7); the vehicle-owner’s faces (the vicarious world of the road). The justifications: the control-and-profit logic (the “he who profits answers”), the loss-distribution’s economics (the deep pocket), the enterprise’s risk internalisation. The scope’s debates: the intentional wrongs in the course (the fraud’s faces), the frolic-and-detour line, the modern gig economy’s questions.
3.3 Legal Mechanisms for Discharging Tortious Liability: Definitions and Categories
The liability’s endings (the exam’s list):
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