Recent Developments in the Statutory Illegality Defences

(2011) 7 Australian Civil Liability pp.121-125

4 Pages Posted: 26 Feb 2016

See all articles by James Goudkamp

James Goudkamp

University of Oxford - Faculty of Law

Date Written: 2011

Abstract

The civil liability legislation was a reaction to perceived inadequacies in the common law. Perhaps the most significant of these supposed shortcomings was its willingness to award compensation to plaintiffs injured while in breach of the criminal law. At the height of the 2001-2002 insurance crisis, media stories decrying the deficiencies of the common law in this respect were commonplace. This barrage of criticism led to the inclusion in the civil liability legislation in all jurisdictions except for Western Australia and Victoria of generally applicable illegality defences. The aim of this short article is to discuss the interpretation of these defences by the courts.4 In order to set the scene for the analysis that follows, some observations about the defences will first be made.

Keywords: tort, defences, illegality, statutes

JEL Classification: K13

Suggested Citation

Goudkamp, James, Recent Developments in the Statutory Illegality Defences (2011). (2011) 7 Australian Civil Liability pp.121-125, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2737635

James Goudkamp (Contact Author)

University of Oxford - Faculty of Law ( email )

St Cross Building
St Cross Road
Oxford, OX1 3UL
United Kingdom

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