INTERVENING ACTS OR EVENTS: CAUSATION

Submitted in partial fulfilment of Internal component for the award of degree

of B. Com., LL.B. (Hons.) for the subject

LAW OF TORTS

BY

Anish Mishra
(Registration number- BC0210006)

of

1st year B.Com., LL.B.(Hons.)

Under the guidance and supervision of

Ms. Vedavalli. S
INTRODUCTION
Causation, in Law of Torts, refers to the relationship of cause and effect
between one event and the result. In simple words, plaintiff must prove that
injury caused to him, was because of the defendant’s action/negligence.
Perhaps, by this definition, we can infer, that its use must be very common in
court of law. And has been subject to rigorous analysis over years by legal
scholars and judges.
Causation majorly consists of two elements- Factual causation (which means
that, the defendant starts the chain of events, leading to the injury) and Legal
causation (which means that, the defendant is held criminally responsible for
the injury caused to plaintiff, because it was foreseeable). However, another
element of causation that is often overlooked is that of Novus Actus
Interveniens.
Novus Actus Interveniens is the Latin term, which means intervening act.
Basically, it breaks the causal chain between the initial wrongdoer’s action and
the liability that is imputed to him/her.
In many cases like- Groenewald v. Groenewald 1998 (2) SA 1106 SCA and,
Haber v. Walker (1963), Carsolegie Steamship Co. Ltd v. Royal Norevegian
Government, etc, elements of causation were applied.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:
1: To understand the “BUT FOR” (Sine qua non) Test, and how it is applied by
different jurisdictions. And what are the similarities and differences, while
applying the law by different courts.
2: To understand the Factual and Legal causation, with the help of some
landmark judgements.
3: To understand the importance of causation in legal practice.
4: To understand the three basic elements of “Novus Actus Interveniens”, and
how it is applied by the courts.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
1: Do both the causation (factual and legal) are important to convict or acquit
the defendant?
If yes, then how they are important? And are they interconnected?
 If no, then how we are applying causation?
2: What kind of problems are faced while proving causation?
3: Are the laws made for applying causation is precise or absurd, with respect to
different jurisdictions?

RESEARCH METHADOLOGY:
In this research, author will use Analytical analysis, for explaining different
aspects of Intervening Acts or Events. And will do thorough scrutiny of
different landmark judgements.

RESEARCH OUTCOMES:
The main outcome of this research will be to make this complex law, easy to
understand, by doing meticulous or scrupulous exploration. And what can we
learn from previous cases. And how it can be applied without going against the
principle of Natural Justice.

RESEARCH SCOPE/LIMITATION-
The scope of this research is limited to understanding the different elements of
Intervening Acts. It will not add or suggest some new elements, which should
be included in the already governing law.

LIST OF PRELIMINARY SOURCES:

BOOKS:
1: Ratanlal and Dhirajlal: The Law of Torts (26th edition)
2: Winfield and Jolowicz: Tort Law (19th edition)
3: Principles of Tort Law by Vivienne Harpwood (4th edition)
JOURNALS:
1: Foreseeable Act as Novus Actus Interveniens by D.B. Casson
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1094303
2: Causation in Tort Law: An Economic Approach by William M Landes and
Richard A Posner
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Causation+in+To
rt+law&btnG=#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DsAmdsPSPMZ4J
3: Causation in Tort Law by Richard W. Wright
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3480373
4: Novus Actus Interveniens by PQR Boberg
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=novus+actus+int
erveniens&oq=Novus+actus+int#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DanRKXnDirdcJ
5: Doctrine of Novus Actus Interveniens Not Always a Defence: Analysis of a
Case by Abhaykumar B Dheeraj, Sandeep K Giri, and Bedanta Sarma
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=novus+actus+int
erveniens&oq=Novus+actus+int#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DrPO_FP01pygJ

TENTATIVE CHAPTERISATION:
1: Introduction
2: “BUT FOR” (Sine qua non) Test
3: Causation
4: Novus Actus Interveniens (Intervening Act)
5: Conclusion