"The aim of the book is to explain Aquilian liability in the South African law of delict to students encountering it for the first time. Aquilian liability is complicated. The rules determining it are to be found in the judgements of our courts, but exactly what rule a judgement created often it is a difficult and controversial questions. Even when the rule is easily established, it frequently hard to figure out precisely what it means and how to apply it to a concrete set of facts"--Back cover

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this book provides ready access to how the legal dimension of prevention against harm and loss allocation is treated in South Africa. This traditional branch of law not only tackles questions which concern every lawyer, whatever his legal expertise, but also concerns each person’s most fundamental rights on a worldwide scale. Following a general introduction that probes the distinction between tort and crime and the relationship between tort and contract, the monograph describes how the concepts of fault and unlawfulness, and of duty of care and negligence, are dealt with in both the legislature and the courts. The book then proceeds to cover specific cases of liability, such as professional liability, liability of public bodies, abuse of rights, injury to reputation and privacy, vicarious liability, liability of parents and teachers, liability for handicapped persons, product liability, environmental liability, and liability connected with road and traffic accidents. Principles of causation, grounds of justification, limitations on recovery, assessment of damages and compensation, and the role of private insurance and social security are all closely considered. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable resource for lawyers in South Africa. Academics and researchers will also welcome this very useful guide, and will appreciate its value not only as a contribution to comparative law but also as a stimulus to harmonization of the rules on tort.

The purpose of this book is to set out the fundamental principles governing the law of medical malpractice in clear and understandable terms, so that those principles can be applied in daily practice. The intersection of the fields of medicine and the law produces formidable challenges. For the lawyer, the applicable legal principles and issues are as intellectually and professionally demanding as encountered in any field of the law. For the medical practitioner, there is at present an obstructive uncertainty and anxiety about the legal rules which apply, and the health professions accordingly feel under siege. Added to this is the formative role that government and civil society plays in considering and assimilating into our legal system profound policy considerations affecting our most intimate interests. This book addresses these issue clearly and comprehensively.