The Civil Liability Arising from a Breach of Statutory Duty in the English Law A Comparative Analytic Study to the Iraqi Civil Law

Abstract

The liability for the breach of statutory duty is considered as a type of the civil liability arising from the tort, in the English Common law of customary origins, which is unwritten and based upon judicial precedents of the English courts. It is worth-bearing in mind that it represents the remedy arising from the breach of duties imposed by the legislation, and gives the victim the right to bring the action for damages. It is based originally on a tort, known as the tort of breach of statutory duty. But it is represented exceptionally by the strict or absolute liability. It is also worth-mentioning that the application of this liability has been prevalent in some sectors and activities, in which the legislator intends to help the innocent plaintiff carry the burden of proving the tort of negligence easily. And to exonerate him sometimes from onus of proving completely. As for the position taken by the Iraqi civil law No.40 of 1951 concerning this type of civil liability, it has enacted a general rule, in which the civil liability from illegal act is based upon the idea of trespass rather than fault. That is to say, the trespass-based liability. Notwithstanding the presence of some similarities between this type of liability and the liability based on the presumed fault in civil law.