Maneesha Gupta, B.A. LL.B (Hons.), School of Law, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Bangalore, India.
ABSTRACT
Imagine being held responsible for something you never committed, were never around, or even considered committing. It would conflict with what we know about the law, be unfair, and be illogical. However, this is quite possible in the general framework of vicarious liability. It's simple to overlook the fact that the law is a set of guidelines developed by people for humans and is not rigid. The law is both malleable and unyielding.
The doctrine of vicarious liability in tort is more than 250 years old and is found in all Western legal systems, be they civil law or common law. Yet, not a lot of interest has been drawn towards it despite the fact that vicarious liability is controversial. It is so because it is a principle of strict liability in an area dominated by fault-based liability. Moreover, it might appear unjust to see an innocent party pay compensation for the wrongs of another. Despite all these contentions it is accepted as requisite. It can be difficult to understand the meaning and the justification of vicarious liability by studying one legal system alone.
Keywords: Vicarious Liability, Principal, Agent, Employment, Negligence, etc.
