Can Tort Law be used to deflect the impact of criminal sanctions? The role of the illegality defence

The suggestion that persons convicted of criminal offences could obtain compensation or indemnity in tort in respect of penalties imposed by the criminal law would undoubtedly strike most people as bizarre and abhorrent. However, in recent years, an increasing number of actions have been brought see...

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Main Author: Goudkamp, J
Format: Journal article
Published: LexisNexis 2006
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author Goudkamp, J
author_facet Goudkamp, J
author_sort Goudkamp, J
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description The suggestion that persons convicted of criminal offences could obtain compensation or indemnity in tort in respect of penalties imposed by the criminal law would undoubtedly strike most people as bizarre and abhorrent. However, in recent years, an increasing number of actions have been brought seeking to do just this. While these actions have generally been unsuccessful as a result of the application of the illegality defence, the courts have failed to properly articulate the public policy considerations which support and militate against the invocation of this defence in this context. This article explores these considerations and concludes that sanction-shifting actions may be permissible in limited circumstances.
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spelling oxford-uuid:d423ee7b-8a06-4ff5-b480-9d4217d239052022-03-27T08:16:13ZCan Tort Law be used to deflect the impact of criminal sanctions? The role of the illegality defenceJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:d423ee7b-8a06-4ff5-b480-9d4217d23905Symplectic Elements at OxfordLexisNexis2006Goudkamp, JThe suggestion that persons convicted of criminal offences could obtain compensation or indemnity in tort in respect of penalties imposed by the criminal law would undoubtedly strike most people as bizarre and abhorrent. However, in recent years, an increasing number of actions have been brought seeking to do just this. While these actions have generally been unsuccessful as a result of the application of the illegality defence, the courts have failed to properly articulate the public policy considerations which support and militate against the invocation of this defence in this context. This article explores these considerations and concludes that sanction-shifting actions may be permissible in limited circumstances.
spellingShingle Goudkamp, J
Can Tort Law be used to deflect the impact of criminal sanctions? The role of the illegality defence
title Can Tort Law be used to deflect the impact of criminal sanctions? The role of the illegality defence
title_full Can Tort Law be used to deflect the impact of criminal sanctions? The role of the illegality defence
title_fullStr Can Tort Law be used to deflect the impact of criminal sanctions? The role of the illegality defence
title_full_unstemmed Can Tort Law be used to deflect the impact of criminal sanctions? The role of the illegality defence
title_short Can Tort Law be used to deflect the impact of criminal sanctions? The role of the illegality defence
title_sort can tort law be used to deflect the impact of criminal sanctions the role of the illegality defence
work_keys_str_mv AT goudkampj cantortlawbeusedtodeflecttheimpactofcriminalsanctionstheroleoftheillegalitydefence