A novel development of tort law: Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2018] UKSC 4

• Main Authors: CHNG, Wei Yao, Kenny, CHAN, Gary Kok Yew, GOH, Yihan
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2019
• Subjects: Tort; Negligence; Torts
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/2900
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This note evaluates the impact of the UK Supreme Courtdecision in Robinson v Chief Constable ofWest Yorkshire Police on tort law. It suggests that while the Supreme Courtclarified that the tripartite test to determine the existence of a duty of carein negligence laid out in CaparoIndustries plc v Dickman applied only to ‘novel’ cases, there is noprincipled ground why a single test cannot be utilised for both establishedcategories and novel cases. The note also argues that the decision hasimportant implications for the act-omission distinction in police cases, andmore broadly, the distinction between principle and policy and the relationshipbetween tort and public law.