The promotion of human dignity : a theory of Tort Law

Abstract

Tort law is viewed by many academic and practitioners as a mixed bag of legal rules with no coherent seam linking its different parts. This view can be traced back to its historical development where tort law became the State’s primary solution to the social problem of what to do about losses caused by civil wrongdoing. The aim of this research is to determine if there is a unifying moral basis which justifies the continued existence of tort law and relationally, to consider whether Irish society would be any the poorer if it were replaced in its entirety with an alternative mechanism such as a statutory compensation scheme. In essence, the question is whether it is the Tort Law or the Law of Torts?