Damages and Their Calculability - Research Paper Example

In civil law, the primary purpose of damage awards is to give compensation, reparation, or indemnification for a loss or injury sustained (CD1). In essence, a claimant is given money in replacement for something he or she was entitled to and thereafter deprived of (CD1). The amount of money given or awarded, in theory, is the amount that would be required to make whole the injured party for their loss. Though these are the general and dominant rules of damages, they are not exhaustive. Exceptions exist where damages are awarded to punish the injuring party or as a matter of right (Mallakh 23).

Damages, generally, vary largely depending on the type of loss or injury sustained, the claim presented, and the jurisdiction in which the claim is brought. Though the general concept of damages is well-rooted in common law, not all damages are, especially when considering those recoverable in securities law (Hames 101). Nevertheless, damage awards are often at the center of controversy given their monetary nature and their debilitating effect. In response, Congress has attempted to address these concerns by enacting several statutes limiting the monetary awards damages can afford. Nonetheless, damages play an integral part in every legal system, providing teeth to every bite civil law imposes.

In the legal system, civil law has its core principles in a system that serves in the perspective of a primary source in law. Based on the Roman law’s framework, civil law was developed from Western Europe origins. The same can be contrasted with common law, which bases intellectual dependency on judge-made decisional laws, that accord precedential authority to any prior court decisions. The latter is on the principle of unfairness in treating similar facts, on different occasions in a different manner.

In discussing these issues, the calculation of damages in relation to a legal dispute is essential, especially in diminution values. Diminution of values depicts a measure of value that can be termed lost as owed to circumstances causing loss. Diminutive in value is a measure of the value of an item prior to and subsequent to the ideal act or an omission done to create the value lost to ensure calculation of compensation changes. Relating to theories available in legal damages this type of value is mostly used for damages related to special compensations (Johnson 76).

The principles of damages and their calculability
Before damages can be recovered, there must be a wrong committed (M11). Even if a loss has been incurred, damages cannot be awarded absent a wrong or invasion of a legal right (M11). The objective of damages is to give the claimant compensation for the loss or injury he or she has suffered, as a result of a breach of duty or right owed to the claimant (M12). Damages in fraud are economic losses that include all financial and material losses, such as loss of profits incurred or loss of value. (M12). These losses on their face can be measured financially.

The general purpose of damages is to award the claimant an amount of money that will put him or her in the same position had he or she not been wronged (M13). The rule however is not absolute. There are limitations where the compensation awarded is less than the loss (M15).