Citation

Palmer P, Steele J. Mod. Law Rev. 2008; 71(5): 801-811.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Modern Law Review Limited, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1468-2230.2008.00716.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In Ashley v Chief Constable of Sussex, the House of Lords ruled that a civil claim in trespass to the person may be sustained against an individual police officer in respect of a fatal shooting, in circumstances where the officer had already been acquitted in criminal proceedings and where liability to compensate in respect of all losses had been conceded. Two members of the majority clearly ruled that trespass torts may have a vindicatory purpose which survives a concession of liability to compensate, thus deepening the connection between tort, and the protection of fundamental rights, and suggesting an intriguing distinction between the functions of civil and criminal law.