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"Who then in law is my neighbour?" - Reverting to First Principles in the High Court of Australia

Katter, Norman A. (2004) "Who then in law is my neighbour?" - Reverting to First Principles in the High Court of Australia. The Tort Law Review 12(2):pp. 85-97.

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Abstract

A trilogy of recent cases before the Full Bench of the High Court of Australia indicate a return to the celebrated statements of Lord Atkin, (himself a native of Australia) formulated some seventy years earlier, as the underlying guide in determining whether a duty of care exists in any circumstance. Whilst various approaches have emerged in the High Court over the past decade involving differing combinations of principle, policy and incremental development, none has proved satisfactory as a general determinant of duty of care in the expanding focus of negligence litigation. This article suggests that the search for a general determinant of the duty issue, has finished where it began and that the principle of neighbourhood as formulated and intended by Lord Atkin has and will continue to provide a universal yardstick as to the existence of a prima facie duty of care.

Item Type:Journal Article
Status:Published
Keywords:Neighbourhood principle;tort;Lord Atkin;High Court of Australia; negligence
Subjects:390000 Law, Justice and Law Enforcement > 390100 Law
390000 Law, Justice and Law Enforcement > 390100 Law > 390117 Tort Law
ID Code:5213
Deposited By:Katter, Norman
Deposited On:12 October 2006
Alternative Locations:http://www.thomson.com.au/catalogue/shopexd.asp?id=1247
Copyright Owner:Copyright 2004 Thomson Legal & Regulatory
Copyright Statement:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.