Who Lost What? Relationship and Relational Loss
Supreme Court Law Review, Vol. 17, No. 2, p. 269, 2002
11 Pages Posted: 21 Aug 2009 Last revised: 13 Nov 2013
Date Written: 2002
Abstract
In this short paper, I explore the approaches taken to relational loss by both the common law and civil law traditions of Canada and, in so doing, reflect on their unique yet overlapping preoccupations and perspectives. In examining responsibility for wrongdoing that causes suffering beyond that experienced by the immediate victim, I will suggest that relational losses can be differentiated depending on the nature of the loss or injury experienced and the appropriateness of searching for a private law response to the loss in question. Further, I will examine and attempt to clarify the significant role that relationship plays in defining and responding to claims of relational injury and loss. The context of relational personal or moral injury serves as a vivid illustration of the potential and limits of Article 1457's and Donoghue v. Stevenson's poetic promise.
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