Tort law undergraduate - Essay Example

One should be aware that this is another province in which the relationship among Human Rights Act and the common law principles will have to be worked out over periods of time. Further, the introduction of HR Act has not resulted in any major changes in the court’s outlook to the public official’s obligation at common law. (Lunney & Oliphant 2008: 530). In Van Colle case, the plaintiff’s son, who was likely to be a witness, in an ensuing criminal trial process, was under constant intimidation and threat which the police were aware as he had duly intimated to police about this, and the plaintiff’s son was murdered before the commencement of trial itself.

Under Article 2 of the HRA, a claim was brought under the HRA for the infringement of the duties. (Lunney & Oliphant 2008:148). Thus , an action was initiated against the police for awarding compensation under the HRA 1998 , basing on a failure by the police as they failed to save the life of a citizen under police’s positive obligation under art .2 of ECHR and got a favourable verdict at first instance. The police appealed to the Court of Appeal, and it was unsuccessful and then made an appeal to House of Lords where the Lords gave the verdict in favour of police.

In “Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire”, (Harpwood 106), the decision of Houses of Lords was footed on public policy, which functioned as a watertight guard in civil claims for the police which resulted in a disproportionate bar on the privileges of individuals. (Harpwood 106). House of Lords was of the opinion that there was no fundamental for inflicting duties on the police as it would interrupt with the freedom of action which police is required when dealing with a grave crime(Harpwood 106).

However, in Hill case, Lord Keith was of the view that police may be tortuously responsible to an