Statutory and Common Law

Common law

Occurs when someone fails to act with the reasonable care expected and causes harm to another.

The key elements include duty of care, breach of duty, and causation.

Duty of Care

A legal obligation to take steps to avoid causing foreseeable harm to another person or their property by adhering to a standard of reasonable care in one’s actions.

Breach of duty

Occurs when a person’s conduct fails to meet an applicable standard of care.

Causation

A factual connection between an act and a consequence that in some way follows from that act.

Statutory Law

A law made by a legislative body, as opposed to common law made by judges. The laws are enacted as Acts of Parliament.

Parliamentary Sovereignty

The concept that Parliament is the supreme law-making body.

Where common law and statutory law are in conflict, the statutory law will prevail.

Statutory Interpretation

Parliament creates legislation for the future, but cannot predict what will happen.

A court must interpret how to apply laws to unforeseen situations

A court must apply acts to the unique and specific circumstances.

The literal Law

• The law is what parliament says it is

• Interpret the words of the Act literally

• Sometimes leads to one possible meaning, which might lead to an absurd outcome

The Golden Rule

• Qualification of the literal rule

• A way to avoid a ridiculous outcome from occuring