Rights and Remedies within the Tort Laws - Term Paper Example

 «Rights and Remedies within the Tort Laws» Introduction The industrial revolution and the introduction of international commerce and trade have made a significant contribution in the expansion of business and trade. This has led to the emergence of a variety of consumer products into the market in order to meet consumers’ needs. In addition, a variety of services such as housing, insurance, banking, finance, and entertainment have also found their way into the market. Apart from these developments, the world of business has seen the emergence of traders and manufacturers with sufficient information on markets. This phenomenon has impacted significantly on the relationship between consumers and traders causing the principle of consumer autonomy almost inapplicable. “Advertisement has played a critical role in influencing consumer demand for goods and services despite the fact that there might be some 1defects on the advertised products.” 1 The consumer protection bill of 1987 In order to ensure there is a better protection of consumer’s interests, the consumer protection bill of 1987 was introduced. The main objective during the introduction of the consumer protection bill was to provide better protection of consumer interests. Howells and Weatherill contend “the move also aimed at creating provisions for the introduction of consumer councils and other institutions that would assist in settling consumer disputes and other issues of concern.”2 In brief, the consumer protection bill seeks to promote and protect the following consumer rights; the right to get protection against products that are harmful to humans and property; right to get information regarding the quality, quantity, price, standard, purity, and potency of products for the purpose of protecting consumers against unlawful trade practices; the right to receive audience and get a guarantee that consumer interests will get due attention at appropriate forums; the right to go for a redress against unjust trade practices or corrupt exploitation of 2consumers; and the right to receive consumer education.2 From the outlined rights, it is clear that the consumer is the main beneficiary of this legislation. However, this legislation provides a chance to forward looking firms to realize that it is their interest to bring to an end unfair competition from firms that neglect consumer rights. Therefore, the Act is relevant to everyone interested in the safety of goods and services getting into the market.2 The first part of the Act came into action in 1988. The first part applies in Great Britain alone, but there is a similar provision for Northern Ireland. The second part of the consumer protection Act contains provisions on consumer safety. This section came into place in 1987 and applies throughout the UK.3 Product liability This is a provision that enables people injured by defective products to sue for damages. Therefore, product liability refers to the laws affecting such rights. Before the introduction of the product liability, injured people had to prove the manufacture’s negligence before making a successful sue for damages. However, the consumer protection Act cleared the need to prove for negligence. This allows the consumer to sue the supplier without proving for negligence under the law governing the sale of goods. The right also offers the same rights to people injured by defective products, without consideration of whether the items were sold to them or not. In addition, the Act implements the European community directive on product liability, which has similar protection provisions for people living in the European Community.3 Under the product liability, the affected consumer has the right to take actions against the producer who in this case can be the manufacturer. Other parties included in this category are processors, but it excludes those exclusively involved in packaging not unless the packaging affects the essential features of the product. The other liable group of persons is the importers, and in this case they must be importing into the EC, but not just into the UK. In situations where products are imported into another EC country and are sold in the UK, the liability is on the initial importer, but 4not the UK importer. The other liable group is that of own branders, which refers to the category of persons who put their personal names on products creating an impression that they are the producers. Suppliers such as retailers and wholesalers are not liable, but they become liable in situations where they fail to recognize importers, own branders or producers when requested to do so by a person affected by damage. The Act allows the plaintiff to sue two or more defendants if the surrounding circumstances favour such moves. It is also essential to note that it is impossible to exclude liability under the Act through contractual terms or other provisions.4 The Act under the product liability provision covers all consumer goods and goods utilized the place of work. Since the beginning of 2001, the provision has being covering all types of foods. Before this change, the Act never covered for food sold in its raw form. The Act does not cover for buildings, but certain products used in the building process such as beams and bricks have a cover. Additional liability cover is on raw materials and individual components. In cases where a finished product has defects in a certain component, the manufacturer of the finished good and that of the components may be held liable.4 The Act does not cover for pure information. Therefore, printed material is not covered, except in cases related to warnings or instructions on products. In this case, the producer should take responsibility for the printing mistakes that make the product unsafe. Similarly, a product designer is not liable for mistakes in designing that make the product appear defective. Therefore, the producer is held liable for the designing defects.4 The consumer protection Act recognizes a defective product as ones that lack the desired safety that the consumer is entitled to expect. One key consideration in recognition of defective products is the fact that a good is not considered defective due to poor quality. In addition, a product will never be taken to be unsafe as a result of the introduction of a safer version. For a court to rule that a product is unsafe, it has to consider how the product is marked, check for instructions or warnings accompanying the product; expectations over the introduction of the product, and the duration the product has been in supply. The Act covers damages of death, personal 5injury, and private property. However, for a plaintiff to get compensated there must be sufficient proof that the product caused the damage in question. Tort and contract Tort and contract are two aspects of modern law that offer comparable rights and remedies as those provided in the consumer protection Act. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss on the two aspects of law and show how they compare with the consumer protection Act. To begin with, tort laws focus on situations whereby a person has harmed another person. The tort laws exclusively cover violation where one party intentionally harmed the other party. In addition, tort laws also address situations where one party is accused of causing harm to another even when the act was not intentional. In normal circumstances, results in tort laws are for the liable party to pay plaintiff for the damages.5 On the other hand, contract laws govern contractual engagements between merchants or persons. A contract is simply an outline of an agreement of how parties are going to engage with each other. Therefore, contract laws facilitate the taking of various transactions by outlining the rules of the transaction and remedies in case of breach of contract. One factor that distinguishes the two types of law is the fact that tort laws occur by virtue of the law and parties do not fix the laws. Therefore, in tort, the law provides guidelines for codes of conduct. On the other hand, contract laws are based 6mainly on mutual agreements and all terms of work are fixed by the involved parties. In the contemporary law, terms of the contract are now being imposed by the numerous statutes available today. The fact that the law fixes duties in the tort implies that the involved parties have had no prior contact. On the other hand, the contracting parties may have had prior contact and may be fully aware of the legal responsibilities before the breach of contract occurs.6 As already mentioned, the consumer protection Act aims at ensuring that the welfare and safety of the consumer is protected. Closely related to this act is the tort law, which aims at protecting people against any harm, suffered as a result of the breach of responsibility put by law. Tort law also aims at deterring behaviours that may cause harm. Just like in the consumer protection Act, the tort laws also provide well outlined rights for all persons.6 The first right provided by the tort laws is that of compensation for victims of injury and loss. In this case, tort offers a means through which matters of liability can be decided and damages assessed and awarded. The other right is that of protection of personal interests. In this case, tort laws offer protection for personal interests such as those of land and property. An example is the tort of nuisance, which protects a person’s utilization and enjoyment of land. The tort laws also provide the right to vindication, which allows people who feel they are innocent to be vindicated. The court declares the person publicly to be innocent. Tort laws are well known for their ability to distribute losses suffered in situations of wrongful activities. In this case, loss refers to the cost of compensating the incurred damages. Loss distribution means re-distributing the cost of compensation7 from the claimant to the defendant, or to the defendant’s insurance company. The fact is that, each person paying insurance or purchasing goods at a higher price for the purpose of covering insurance payments will suffer the cost. The tort laws further ensures there is a punishment for any misconduct. The punishment requires the wrongdoer to pay the victim; the main issue of concern is whether the punishment has any impact on the wrongdoer because such payments are done by insurance companies.7 One captivating observation in relation to tort law is its deterrent effect, ability to encourage people to take fewer risks, as well conducting their activities in a manner that cannot cause harm to others. Singh argues “this is so because of the increased awareness of the need for risk management by employers, individuals, and manufacturers. Insurance firms are also playing a critical role in educating their clients on the importance of proper risk management strategies.” 7 The UK authorities have undertaken the appropriate measures of ensuring that the consumer protection Act is fully effective. This is evident from the fact that the consumer protection Act offers additional incentives for businesses to guarantee that their products meet the safety required by consumers. In achieving this, the UK authorities provide a checklist that enables businesses to meet the necessary obligations under the Act. The checklist requires businesses to review management procedures in order to ensure that all production procedures produce a safe product. It also requires businesses to introduce quality assurance strategies at all steps in the production process. In addition, businesses are required to ascertain if the business cover is adequate, which also includes the8 product liability insurance. “Other requirements include a review on any contractual arrangements with consumers, suppliers or other relevant parties. In addition, businesses are required to check for any certain regulations providing mandatory needs for the firm’s products.”8 The above issues of consideration serve as a proof that the aims of the consumer protection Act have been achieved at measurable levels. This is because a majority of UK business firms has ISO certification, which requires firms to meet the above mentioned standards. Bibliography Read More