SALT! - Part 1

by Bidisha Basu and Jeremy Johnson | October 13, 2011

If there is one thing that different parts of the legal profession can agree on, it is that our literature – our contracts, treatises, judgments, and briefs are often unnecessarily dense. At myLaw.net, we firmly believe that this need not be the case. Our understanding of law can only improve with a dose of lucidity – and what’s more lucid than comics? Over the coming weeks, Bidisha Basu's writing and Jeremy Johnson's illustrations will traverse the development and growth of the tort law principle of ‘strict liability’ – in brilliant, breath-taking comic form!

The 1868 decision of the House of Lords in Rylands v. Fletcher changed the understanding of the role of 'fault' in the determination of liability. The outcome of the case and the rationale adopted by the judges meant that judges were no longer constrained by the previously necessary requirement of proving negligence or wrongful intent.

By holding parties 'strictly liable', the decision not only brought a greater level of certainty to the aftermath of calamitous incidents and accidents, but also arguably influenced the development safety protocols in inherently dangerous industries. Today, with the spread of the government into more and more fields of human endeavour, 'strict liability' lives on in our statute books, most distinctly in laws that prescribe penalties for environmental damage.

‘Nuff said – here’s the comic! Let us know what you think of it in the comments!

Read the whole comic:

Part 2

Part 3