James Goudkamp, ‘Insanity as a Tort Defence’

Abstract:
Unlike the criminal law, tort law does not recognize insanity as an answer to liability. The fact that a defendant was insane at the time of his impugned conduct is essentially ignored by tort law’s liability rules. It will be argued that this situation is unsatisfactory. A person should not incur liability in tort in respect of acts committed while insane. This result should be realized by providing for a generally applicable affirmative defence of insanity.

James Goudkamp, “Insanity as a Tort Defence“. Oxford J Legal Studies (2011) doi: 10.1093/ojls/gqr026. First published online: October 28, 2011.

First posted 2011-10-30 12:45:44

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