Desempeño profesional del docente (análisis global)

4.0 CONCLUSION

One of the mysteries of Legal Education is the exact or precise meaning and ambit of tort liability. Tortuous liability arises from the breach of a duty of primary care fixed by law.

Such duty is towards persons generally and its breach is redressable by an action for unliquidated damges. Although universally acclaimed, this definition does little more than purport to assist us to distinguish tort form other branches of Law.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, you learnt about the Law of Tort in comparison and difference between Torts and Crime, Tort and Breach of Trust, Tort and Contract.

6.0 TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT

(i) Tort and crime (ii) Tort and contract (iii) Tort and breach of trust

7.0 REFERENCES

Criminal Code of the Southern States of Nigeria Penal Code of the Northern States of Nigeria

UNIT 3 The Reception of the Law of Torts in Nigeria

1.0 Introduction 2.0 Objectives 3.0 Main content

3.1 How law of tort was received into Nigeria 3.2 Sources of the Nigerian law of tort

4.0 Conclusion 5.0 Summary

6.0 Tutor Marked Assignments 7.0 References and further reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The evolution of the law of tort has been somewhat haphazard and it is an area of law which is still developing. Note until 1932, was negligence officially recognized by the House of Lords in England as a separate tort, has negligence been of central importance.

However, the vast majority of tort claims today are for negligence. Negligence has proved the most appropriate action in modern living conditions, especially since the development of the motor car. We shall consider how the law of torts was received into Nigeria.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

By the end of this unit you should be able to:

(i) explain how the law of torts was received into Nigeria;

(ii) enumerate the sources of the Nigerian law of tort.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1

How Law of Tort was received into Nigeria

The law of tort is a part of the common law of England which is itself, a part of the English law. The law of tort came into Nigeria when English law was received into Nigeria by virtue of local statutes that permitted the application of English law in Nigeria.

The English law which was introduced into Nigeria is made up of three aspects. These are:

1. The common law of England 2. Equity; and

3. The statutes of general application in force in England on January 1, 1900.

Among the local statutes that received the laws of England for application in Nigeria were the Supreme Court Act 1914, the Interpretation Act and the High Court laws of the Regions. These Nigerian statutes received the English common law, equity and statutes of general application, which were in force in England on January 1, 1900 and made them applicable in Nigeria. Later on, in the Western Region of Nigeria, the regional parliament enacted the Law of England (Applicable) Law and limited itself to receiving only English common law and equity. See section 3, Laws of Western Region of Nigeria, 1959.

This law made statutes of general application in respect of subject matters that were within the legislative competence of the Western Region parliament inapplicable to the Region. The Western Region parliament then re-enacted such English statutes of general application that were relevant for the region mutatis mutandis and made them part of its law to fill the gaps that would have been created.

It is generally agreed that the cut off January 1, 1900 date is applicable only to English statutes of general application and therefore bars English statutes made after that date onwards to this day, from application in Nigeria. Thus, the principles of English common law and equity which are current in England should apply in Nigeria as they are not affected by the January 1, 1900 cut off date. Provided that:

1. Such principle of common law is not in conflict with any Nigerian statute or case law on the subject matter; and

2. The jurisdiction of the relevant court permits it to apply English law, subject of course to the overriding power of the court in question to ascertain the current state of the law in England.

In the light of the fact that statutes made in England after January 1, 1900 are not applicable in Nigeria, the legislature at the Federal, State and local councils levels now have the full responsibility of enacting legislations to meet the needs of Nigeria and maintain parity with legal developments in other countries, especially common law countries, such as England and the rest of the Commonwealth of Nations.

In this wise, many statutes have been enacted by the legislatures in Nigeria. Some of these statutes are reproductions mutatis mutandis of the relevant English legislations after which they are modelled. Examples are the Defamation Law, Law Reform (Torts) Law, Fatal Accidents Law, Weights and Measures Act, Food and Drugs Act and the Consumer Protection Council Act to mention a few. (See Laws of Lagos State, 2003 and Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004).

It is hoped that the enactment of statutes in Nigeria will be a pro-active, timely and responsive exercise, so that reform will continue to be made in deserving aspects of Nigerian law. For instance, in the law of tort, such as, in trespass to goods, liability for defective buildings and structures, etc.

3.2 The Sources of the Nigerian law of tort

The sources of the Nigerian law of tort are several. They include:

1. Common law 2. Case law; and 3. Statutes

We shall briefly examine these.