What is Liability
Liability is the result of a violation of the law. The law awards legal rights to one individual and imposes the duty upon another person. A person should not infringe is the legal right of others. If anybody violates the legal right of another, he is said to have committed a wrong. If there is a wrong there is a liability.
There are various kinds of liability such as Civil liability, Criminal liability, Penal Liability, Remedial Liability, Vicarious Liability, Absolute or Strict Liability.
Definitions of Liability
It is difficult to define the term ‘liability’ Some Eminent Jurists made attempt to define the term ‘liability’.
Salmond –
According to Sir John Salmond, “liability or responsibility is the bond of necessity that exists between the wrongdoer and the remedy of the wrong.”
Austin –
Austin prefers to use the term ‘imputability’ to ‘liability’. According to him, Those certain forbearances, Commissions or acts, together with such of their consequences, as it was the purpose of the duties to avert, are imputable to the persons who have forborne omitted or acted.
Vicarious liability
The general principle of law is that a person is liable for his own actions and not for the acts of others., but in certain kinds of cases a person is held liable for the act of another because of special relationship subsisting between them. for example – Master and Servant Company and Directors etc.
Criminal liability is never vicarious except in special circumstances. However, Civil Law recognizes vicarious liability in two classes of cases. A master is responsible for the acts of his servants done in the course of their employment. Likewise, legal representatives are liable for the act of dead men whom they represent.
Definition of vicarious liability
According to Webster’s dictionary, the term ‘vicar’ means the person who performs the function of another, a substitute Vicarious liability means the liability which is incurred for or instead of another.
Principles of vicarious liability
Vicarious liability emerges from the following principles –
1) Qui facit per alium facit per se – Qui facit per alium facit per se this is Latin Maxim which means, ” he who does an act through another, is deemed in law to do himself. when a person authorizes another to perform an act and a tort is committed while performing the act, the former is liable as if he had committed it himself.
2) Respondent superior – It means ” let the superior be liable”. if the liability is imposed on a Superior man ignoring the weaker man, the injured party would get the appropriate remedy.
