GHANA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (GIMPA)

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA OCCUPATIONAL

SAFETY ,HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT
DOSHEM
TOPIC:1. Legal Framework for the Regulation of OHS

2.Some Legal Terminology as Applied In OHS

FACILITATOR
PETER AGBO-GANDEE
 Expected Learning Outcomes

• On completing the module participants should

understand:
– The need for occupational safety and health (OSH)
legislation
– How OSH legislation is structured
– The current limitations in OSH legislation in Ghana
and the need for improvement
– Enforcement of OSH legislation
– Some Legal Terminology as applied in OSH
 Why the Need for OSH
Legislation
• Occupational safety and health related
accidents impact negatively on economic
growth.
• Laws are useful in compelling employers to
put sound OSH systems in place.
• Proactive organisations do not wait for the
law.
 Why the Need for OSH
Legislation
• It sets out duties , responsibilities and
rights for all workplace parties.
It
establishes procedures for dealing with
workplace hazards and provides for
enforcement of the law where compliance
has not been achieved voluntarily.
 Obligations Beyond Legal
Compliance
• The ability of an organization to move beyond
a legal compliance mindset is a test of its
culture and commitment to safety.
• Legal compliance is a minimum requirement
set by legislation, policies and codes of
practice.
• Employers are also responsible to shareholders
and society.
 What is OHS Law?
• Health and Safety law is a collection of rules
designed to regulate and control the conduct of
employers and employees at work, laid down
by those in authority and enforced by its
officials.
 Health and Safety law
• The purpose of Health and Safety law protect
people at work, which covers the civil and criminal
liabilities of employers towards their employees and
other persons.
• It also includes
promotion ,improvement ,maintenance and
safeguarding the health, safety and welfare of all
persons in employment, or the workplace free from
illness, injury, discomfort at the workplace.
 Health and Safety law
• The ILO Constitution sets forth the
principle that workers should be
protected from sickness, disease and
injury arising from their employment.
 Seoul Declaration on Safety and Health at Work,
(2008)
(World Congress Summit on Safety and Health
at Work, ILO).
• “ Recalling that the right to a safe and healthy
working environment should be recognized as a
fundamental human right and that globalization
must go hand in hand with preventative measures to
ensure the safety and health of all at work. ”

• Universal Declaration on Human Rights-Article 23

You have the right to work in fair and safe
conditions…
 1992 Constitution Of The
Republic Of Ghana
• 24(1) Every person has the right to work under
satisfactory, safe and healthy conditions, and
shall receive equal pay for equal work without
distinction of any kind.
• 24(2) Every worker shall be assured of rest,
leisure and reasonable limitation of working
hours and periods of holidays with pay, as well
as remuneration for public holidays.
 1992 Constitution Of The
Republic Of Ghana

• 36(10) The State shall safeguard the health, safety

and welfare of all persons in employment, and shall
establish the basis for the full deployment of the
creative potential of all Ghanaians.
 Legislation
• Acts of Parliament are primary or principal law
which are fully supported by law.
• Acts of parliament set out framework of principles
or objectives.
• Compliance to an Act is mandatory
• Legislation can have many purposes:
• to regulate, to sanction
• to authorize, to grant
• to outlaw, to declare
• to provide (funds),,, to restrict.
 There are two main kinds of
legislation/(1.ACTS)
1.Supreme legislation also known as Primary
legislation – Acts or Statutes made by Parliament

2. Delegated legislation  or Enabling Act ,refers to

those laws made by persons or bodies to whom
parliament has delegated powers or authority.
Delegated Legislation may be known as
Secondary, Subordinate, Subsidiary legislation or
Statutory Instruments ( which are often Regulations-
LI, Codes, Orders, Rules, byelaws.).
 Delegated Legislation

• When passing an act, the legislature may make

provision for what is known as delegated legislation
or Enabling Act-empowering a person or body to
take certain action to make regulations, rules, or
orders.
• Delegated legislation is used to grant some person
or governing body the power to make orders,
regulations and rules which have the force of law.
 Reasons for Delegated
Legislation

• The reasons for using delegated legislation arises

out of the limitations placed on the legislature
during and after the formal process of passing
legislation.
 Reasons for Delegated Legislation
• They are:
– Lack of time - the legislature has insufficient time to
deal
With and debate all issues necessary for efficient
government.

– Urgency - the legislature is not always in session.

Furthermore, the process is often slow.
 Reasons for Delegated Legislation

• Flexibility - a ministerial order can be made

speedily if legislation needs clarification.
• The legislature would need to pass another
Statute to achieve the same effect.
 Reasons for Delegated Legislation
• Technical matter - much legislation today is of a
technical nature and requires detailed expert input.
• This is best left to ministers of state advised by their
departments' or by statutory boards or commissions,
or inputs from stakeholders.
 Reasons for Delegated Legislation

• Future needs - the legislature cannot foresee

all the difficulties associated with health,
safety and welfare issues.
• Future difficulties are best dealt with by
delegated legislation.
 2.Regulations
• Regulations provide specific rules within the limits
of the Act,guidelines that dictate how the legal
provisions of the act should be applied.
• They are adopted and amended by cabinet or the
sector minister.
• Regulations are subsidiaries of the Act, but they are
also mandatory and legally enforceable.
• Non-compliance attract fine and/or imprisonment
• Regulations often contain absolute legal standards
not qualified by the term reasonably practicable.
 Regulations
• Regulations tend to cover specific industries
or hazards and state the mandatory
minimum standards and objectives for
hazard control, “safe levels”, training, etc.
and they apply to specific workplaces.
 Self Regulation
• Modern trend in safety and health legislation sets
standards and objectives and leaves it to the duty
holder to determine how best to achieve them.
These type of regulation is left for the
employer to set.
• Example of self regulation is safety policy,
environmental policy etc.
 Acts Vs. Regulation
• 1. Act is a directive proposed by a legislative body
while a Regulation is a specific requirement within
legislation by cabinet, the sector minister or
government agencies.

• 2. Act is broader and more general while regulation

is specific and details how legislation is enforced.
 Acts Vs. Regulation
• 3. Act may be proposed by a parliament /head of
state while regulations are simply enforcements by
regulators and head of state doesn’t interfere.

• 4. Act is almost always internally generated within a

country’s government while regulations may be
internally or externally generated, especially
pertaining to particular industry.
 Acts Vs. Regulation
• 5. Act is a “Goal-based legislation” does not specify
the means of achieving compliance but sets goals that
allow alternative ways of achieving compliance,

e.g. “People shall be prevented

from falling over the edges of the unguarded stair”.
• 6. Regulation is a “Prescriptive legislation” gives
specific means of achieving compliance,
e.g. “You shall install
a 1 meter high guard rail at the edge of the stairs”.
 3. Codes of Practice
• They provide Practical guidelines on ways to
achieve lawful standards and objectives that are
detailed in the regulations.
• They are adopted and amended by a relevant
government body.
• They are not mandatory but can be used in legal
proceedings as evidence of compliance with an Act
or Regulations.
• Codes of Practice provide advice on how to meet
regulatory requirements. 
 4.Guides or Notes of Guidance
• They provide official detailed information on
recommendations to help employers comply with
OSH laws.
• They provide practical “how to” information for
getting compliance.
• They are not mandatory but they explain the type of
action that employers should take to comply with
the relevant laws.
• They are adopted and amended by relevant
government bodies.
 Guides or Notes of Guidance

Guidance notes have no legal status and are not,

generally, admissible as evidence in criminal
proceedings.
 Acts-OSH
• 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana

• Factories, Offices and Shops Act, Act 328,

1970

• Labour Act 651, 2003

• Workmen’s Compensation Law (PNDCL

187) 1987
 OSH Regulations
• Minerals and Mining (Explosives) Regulations,
2012 (Li 2177)
• Minerals and Mining (Health, Safety and
Technical) Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2182)
• Petroleum (Exploration and Production) (Health,
Safety and Environment) Regulations, 2017 (L.I
2258)
•  Fire Precaution (Premises) Regulations, LI 1724,
2003
• Radiation Protection Instrument 1993 LI 559.
 Sources of Law
• There are two primary sources of law-
• 1.Statute Law.
• 2.Common Law (case Law )
 Statute Law

• Statutory Law is the term used to define

written laws, usually enacted by a legislative body
or by parliamentary process, and only Parliament
can make, modify, revoke or amend them.
• As a source of law, statutes are considered primary
authority
• Statutes supersede all forms of law
 Common Law
• The term 'common law' refers to a system of
law originally derived in England and imported
into many other countries at the time of
colonization.
• Common law is based on sets of rules
developed by judges usually hearing cases in
superior courts.
• Common law is also referred to as 'case law'
and can be viewed as legal rules not contained
in legislation.
 Common Law

• These are based on judicial precedent;

• Common principles or accepted standards
fill the gaps where statute law has not
supplied specific requirements.
• Common law also provides the foundation
for most civil claims made on health and
safety issues.
 Common Law

• There are important differences between

common and statute law.
• Judges, through the common law court
system, could be seen as making decisions
in order to resolve specific disputes
between various parties.
 Common Law
• If, for example, a worker is injured in the
workplace a court will decide on the
question of blame and what compensation
is owed.
• This may set a precedent for future cases.
 Common Law

• The courts, however, cannot establish rules

that will prevent future accidents occurring.
• Common law is re-active, whereas
legislation has the potential to be pro-active
and may serve to prevent problems rather
than simply provide a means of settling
disputes.
 Common Law
• Legislation is much more flexible than common
law, which is rigid and always takes precedence.
• Parliament within the limits of its power can change
any principles deriving from case law that may be
considered undesirable.
 Civil Law and Criminal Law
• The legal system is generally divided into two major
areas - civil law and criminal law.
• Civil law deals with disputes between individuals or
individuals and companies vice versa.
• An individual sues another individual or a company
to address a civil wrong .
• The purpose of this law is to provide compensation.
 Civil law
• The individual who brings the complain to
court is known as the plaintiff(petitioner)
and the individual or company who is being
sued is known as the
defendant(respondent).
 Civil law
• The civil court is concerned with liability rather
than guilt or non-guilt.
• A claimant bears the burden of proving a case that
the defendant was negligent, which is “balance of
probability”, which is a lower level of certainty than
that of “beyond reasonable doubt” required by the
criminal court.
 Civil law
• If a defendant is found to be liable, the court would
normally order him to pay a compensation and
possibly costs to the plaintiff.
• The lower the balance of probability, the lower the
level of compensation awarded.
• In extreme cases where the balance of probability is
just over 50%, the plaintiff may win his case but
lose financially because costs may not be awarded
and the level of compensation low.
 Criminal Law
• Criminal law is the law that operates between the
state and the individual.
• Criminal law consists of rules of behaviour laid
down by the government or the state and, normally,
enacted by Parliament .
 Criminal Law
• These rules or Acts are imposed on the people
for the protection of the people .

• There are 3 key purpose of criminal law

enactment, this are
-deterrence
-incapacitation
-retribution
 Criminal Law
• An individual who breaks criminal law is
deemed to have committed an offence or
crime and, if he is prosecuted, the court will
determine whether he is guilty or not.
• If he is found guilty (Actus Reus- guilty act)
, the court could sentence him to a fine or
imprisonment.
 Criminal Law
• Due to this possible loss of liberty, the level of
proof required by a criminal court is high and is
known as ‘beyond a reasonable doubt”, which is
as near certainty as possible.
 Criminal Law
• There is one important difference between
procedures for criminal cases in general and
criminal cases involving health and safety.
• The prosecution in a criminal case has to
prove the guilt of the accused beyond
reasonable doubt.
 Criminal Law
• "Fine" means any pecuniary penalty to which a person
may be liable for breach of a provision in an enactment.
• (pecuniary penalties are monetary fines imposed and
collected by courts)

• Penalty unit (abbreviated as PU) is an amount of

money used to compute pecuniary penalties for
breaches of statute law.

 
 Types of Statutory Duty
• There are three types or levels of statutory duty
which forms a hierarchy of duties imposed on
employer by statute.

– Absolute duty
– Practicable duty
– Reasonably Practicable duty
 Absolute Duty or (strict
liability)
• This is the highest level of duty and implies
strict liability.
• It is applicable to situations when risk of
injury is so high that the employer must
take specific actions to eliminate the
hazards.
 Absolute Duty or (strict liability)

• No assessment of risk is required but the duty is

absolute and the employer has no choice but to
undertake the duty.
• The terms ‘must or shall’ are used in the
clauses of the Act or Regulations to demand
absolute duty. (command or mandatory )
 Practicable duty
• Once something is found to be practicable it
is feasible and must be done irrespective of
cost or inconvenience
• It means that if the duty is technically
possible or feasible, then it must be done
irrespective of any difficulty, inconvenience
or cost.
 Reasonably Practicable
• It refers to the best action under the circumstances.
• The employer is allowed to balance the cost of
taking action (in terms of time, money and
inconvenience) against the risk being considered.
• If the risk is insignificant against the cost then steps
need not be taken.
 Reasonably Practicable
• This legal standard classically was defined
in the case of Edwards v NCB 1949 where
the quantum of risk involved is placed upon
one scale and the cost of the measures
necessary for averting the risk are placed
upon the other. Where the costs far
outweigh the risks involved it is not
reasonably practicable to do more.
 Duty Holder
Any person or organisation holding a legal
duty prescribe by law or regulation, for
example, all employers and employees.

Duty of Care
Common law duty placed upon all persons to
exercise reasonable care that their acts or
omissions do not harm their neighbour.
 Breach of Duty
“The violation of a legal or moral obligation;
the failure to act as the law obligates one to
act.”

Act or Omission
.

Acts or Omissions is the neglect or failure

to perform what the law requires.
 Employees’ Duty of Care
• Employees have general duty of care in common
law to take care for health and safety of
themselves and other people,(may be affected by
acts or omissions).
• To co-operate with employer so as to enable
compliance with statutory requirements.
• They can be sued by anyone injured as a result of
lack of reasonable care on their part, by their acts
or omissions at work.
 Employer's Duty of Care
• The employer's duty, as recognized by law
in many jurisdictions deriving from English
law, is to take 'reasonable care' for the
safety of his/her employees in all
circumstances of the employment.
 Employer's Common Law Duties
• Duty of Care

– Provision of a safe place of work.

– Provision of a safe system of work.
– Provision and maintenance of safe plant and equipment.
– Provision of competent staff to manage and supervise the
employer's business.
– Appropriate supervision, information,instruction and
training
 Non-delegable Duty of Care
The employer cannot delegate the discharge of its
duty of care to another party.
This means that a duty of care attaches to the
employer regardless of personal fault on its part, as
long as the employee proves that damage was
caused by lack of reasonable care on the part of
employer within the scope of the relevant duty of
care, the employer is at fault.
 Neighbour principle
• Neighbour principle is a principle of English law
which says that a person should take reasonable
care to avoid acts or omissions that s/he can
reasonably foresee as likely to cause injury to
the neighbour.
• " Who, then, in law, is my neighbour?
The answer seems to be persons who are so
closely and directly affected by my act that I ought
reasonably to have them in contemplation as being
affected when I am directing my mind to the acts or
omissions which are called in question."
Definition of Standard of 'Reasonable
Care'

• The standard of care required might be said to be

that amount of care that would be exercised in
the same circumstances by a reasonable person.
• The more serious the potential injury, the greater
the standard of care required.
• A lack of resources is not usually accepted as
defence for the defendant failing to exercise
reasonable care.
 Who is a “Reasonable Person”?
A reasonable person would consider:
•standard of care required of him
•foreseeability of possible risk
•magnitude of the risk
•Likelihood of injury or damage that will occur
•seriousness of injury or damage
•Precautions to be taken or took- preventability
•act reasonableness
The courts will consider the cost and practicality of
measures that defendant could have adopted in order to
prevent injury or damage.
 Enforcement of OSH
Legislation

• OSH legislation needs government

enforcement in order for it to be effective.
• The enforcement is usually done by
government OSH inspectors.
 Limitations of OSH Laws
• Most developed countries have strong OSH
Laws
• Most developing countries however have
weak laws that are not effective
• The laws are outdated which means
workers cannot rely on legislation for
adequate protection
 Limitations on Enforcement
• Legislations are not effectively enforced in
developing countries because:
– There are not enough inspectors
– Many inspectors have limited training
– Lack of adequate logistics for inspectors
– Legislations are weak and not enforceable
– Most inspectors will visit the biggest factories
or those with known health and safety
problems
 Reasons for Ineffective OSH Laws
• Legislations do not address all categories of work.
• Penalties are not sufficient to serve as deterrents
• Most legislations deal with only safety and not
occupational health
• Legislation are not sometimes clearer, not workplace
relevant and not easier for all to understand
• Legislation not consistent
• Advisory services do not meet their needs
• Political interferences
•  
 Reasons for Ineffective OSH Laws

• There is lack of up to date regulations to back

the Acts
• No or less regulations
• Many employers are not familiar with existing
Acts, Regulations, Codes of Practice and
Guidance notes applicable to their organisations,
• Unions, Workers, and Employers are not
involved in setting standards and regulations,
 Reasons for Ineffective OSH Laws

• Acts and Regulations are often written in

unclear language and cannot be used to
uphold the law.
• There are insufficient resources available
for enforcing the laws and inspecting
worksites.
 
 Prosecutions
• Prosecutions under occupational health and
safety legislation can take a number of forms.
They can be based on:
– failure to obey an administrative notice, e.g.
prohibition or improvement notice.
– breach of the general duty of care (such
prosecutions are usually brought after an
injury or serious near miss).
– breach of a specific section of the act or
regulations
SOME LEGAL TERMINOLOGY
AS applied in ohs
 Civil liability
• A civil action generally involves a claim of
negligence or breach of statutory duty by
employee against the employer.
• Civil liability for payment of damages or
'penalty’, or other court-enforcement in a
lawsuit, as distinguished from,
• Criminal liability, which means open to
punishment for a crime.
 Civil liability
• There are two types of civil liability:
1.Fault liability
2.No fault liability
• Fault liability-injured party must prove that :
1.duty of care is own
2.breach of duty of care
3.injury sustain
 TORT
• A tort is defined as a ‘civil wrong’.
• Tort is the French word for a “wrong.”
• The claimant (victim of the tort) sues for
compensation in a civil action, and if successful, the
defendant(tortfeasor) has tortuous liability.
• The two main types of tort- unintentional and
intentional torts .
Examples of unintentional tort are negligence,
nuisance or strict liability , and intentional tort
(trespass).
 Tort
• The rule of common law is that everyone owes a
duty to everyone else to take reasonable care so as
not to cause them foreseeable injury.
• Tortious liability arises from the breach of a duty
primarily fixed by the law.
• Such duty is towards persons generally and its
breach is redressible by an action for unliquidated
damages.
• unliquidated damages are damages for a party's
breach which have not been pre-estimated.
 Tort
The primary aim or purpose of bringing a tort case is
to either recover a cash award that, in theory, fairly
compensates the victim for damages suffered.
The three main goals of Tort Law are:
1)
to make sure the injured party is compensated,

2) to ensure that others refrain from engaging in

future negligent actions, and
3) to ensure the victim’s legal rights
are protected.
 Types of Remedy

• The remedy sought may be financial

compensation (damages), or
• an injunction (court order) to prevent the
defendant perpetrating the wrongdoing (an
injunction to prevent nuisance arising from
noise, for example).
 Negligence
• ‘Negligence’ is defined as ‘careless conduct
injuring another’.
• In a civil action for negligence, three specific
facts must be proved
• by the claimant:
• a duty of care is owed;
• there has been a breach of that duty; and 
• injury, damage and/or loss has been sustained by
the claimant as a result of that breach
 
 Contributory Negligence
When an injured plaintiff may have contributed to
his or her injury by being negligent of the obvious
and known conditions.
Eg.Employee intentionally removes a
machine guard or fail to use PPE provided and get
injured examples of contributory negligence.
Contributory negligence may defeat the attempt to
recover damages or may reduce the amount of the
award.
Its partial defence on the part of employer.
 Employers Liability in
Negligence
• May be personally liable to employees who injure
themselves.
• May be personally liable to employees who are
injured by another employee or sometimes by an
independent contractor employed by the employer,
that is vicariously liable if one employee is injured
by another employee
Defence to Negligence-(employer)
• Defences under common law can be based on:
– There was no negligence
– There was no duty owed
– The accident did not result from the lack of care
– The accident was the fault of the employee
– The employee contributed to the accident
– The employee accepted the risk voluntarily -
(Volenti non fit injuria)
– The case was out of time-statute of limitation
– The injury did not happened in course of duty
 Damages
• Civil liability may result in an award of damages
for injury, disease or death at work in
circumstances disclosing a breach of
common law and/or statutory duty on the part of
an employer.

Two types of damages

1.Compensatory damages and
2.Punitive Damages
 
 Types of Damages
1.Compensatory damages are further categorized into
general damages  and special damages.

2.Punitive damages, also referred to as “exemplary

damages,” serve two purposes:
(1) to punish the defendant,
and (2) to set a public
example.
 Compensatory Damages
General damages
General damages represent the types of
damages that can’t easily be assigned a monetary
value, such as pain and suffering,  and emotional
trauma which are noneconomic.
There is no
evidence, such as bills or receipts, of a specific
amount, but they are losses for which the plaintiff
deserves compensation nonetheless.
 Compensatory Damages
• Special damages relate to quantifiable losses
incurred before the hearing of the case.
Monetary losses such as medical bills and damage
to personal or real property, and possibly loss of
earnings.
These are compensation for the expenses
you incurred as a result of the accident.
• These are your “out of pocket” expenses.
 Standard Of Proof

• The amount of evidence which a plaintiff

(or prosecuting attorney, in a criminal
case) must present in a trial in order to win
is called the standard of proof.
• Different cases require different standards
of proof, there are three kinds of standards
of proof.
Standard of Proof (burden of proof)
• (1) Preponderance of evidence or Balance of
probabilities indicates a 'more likely than not' probability,
lowest level of proof that applies to civil cases
• (2) Clear and convincing intermediate level of proof that
applies to certain civil cases where clear and convincing
evidence is required; and,

(3) Highest level of proof demanded in criminal cases

(eg. murder) that establishes the offense beyond a
reasonable doubt.
 Burden of Proof

• The burden of proof in common law case rests on

the complainant (plaintiff).
• He must show that he was owed a duty of care, and
that as a result of the breach he suffered damage,
 Vicarious Liability
• If an employee acts negligently - even if the
employer was not aware that the employee was
doing so causing death or harm to others,
provided the actions were committed in the
course of employment the employer could face
fines or a lawsuit.
• Vicarious Liability also known as master servant
rule, Since the Master-Servant Rule places the
onus on the employer, it is important that the
employer set the guidelines for appropriate
employee behavior.
 'Fellow Servant Rule'
• Fellow servant rule is a common law doctrine
that barred or reduced the amount of money an
injured employee could recover against an
employer if injury was caused solely by the
negligence of a fellow worker.
• An injured employee had to bring a cause for
action against the fellow employee causing the
injury, not the employer.
Workers Compensation laws have nullified(not
applicable) the fellow servant rule for job-
related injuries.
 Volenti non fit injuria
• [Latin: no wrong is done to one who
consents] if someone willingly places
themselves in a position where harm might
result, knowing that some degree of harm
might result, they are not able to bring a
claim against the other party in tort .
• It is commonly referred to as ‘voluntary
assumption of risk’.
 “ Assumption of risk ”
• Is a defense in the law of torts, which bars a
plaintiff from recovery against a negligent
tortfeasor if the defendant can demonstrate that the
plaintiff voluntarily and knowingly assumed the
risks at issue inherent to the dangerous activity in
which he was participating at the time of his injury.
• No duty of care
 “ Assumption of risk ”
• it is a complete defence and no damages
would be payable to a claimant in respect of a
claim for negligence.
• However it is a very limited defence based on
the employee voluntarily assuming a risk as
part of his normal work activities.
 “Res Ipsa Loquitur”
• A term meaning ‘the facts speak for themselves’
or ‘the matter itself speaks’, a phrase used in
actions for injury occasioned by negligence
where no proof is required of negligence beyond
the accident itself.
 “Res Ipsa Loquitur”

where there is sufficient evidence that the

complainant suffered damage as a result of
lack of reasonable care.
•The complainant may not have to show
exactly how an accident occurs as facts will
speak for themselves.
 WHEN THE MAXIM 'RES IPSA LOQUITUR'
APPLIES
• There are three conditions that must be fulfilled
before res ipsa loquitur applies.

• (a) The defendant must have control over the

thing that caused the damage.
• (b) The accident must be such as would not
normally happen without carelessness.
(c) The cause of the accident must be unknown.
 Ex turpi Causa 
• Latin "from a dishonorable cause an action does not
arise“.
• Ex turpi causa is a legal doctrine which states that a
plaintiff will be unable to pursue legal remedy if it
arises in connection with his/her own illegal act-
(Actus Reus- guilty act).
This principle is relevant in
the law of contract, tort.
Ex turpi causa is also known as
the “illegality defence.”
Employee injured under the
influence of alcohol or banned drug at the workplace.
 Stare decisis

• A term meaning ‘let the decision stand’,

implying the need to stick to the decisions
of past cases.
• Stare decisis is the basis for the doctrine of
binding judicial precedent.
 Judicial Precedent
•Judicial precedent is where past decisions of
judges are followed in future cases when the acts
of the case is similar.
•A precedent may be authoritative or persuasive.
 Authoritative Precedents
• These are the decisions which judges are
bound to follow.
• There is no choice in the matter.
A lower court, for example, is bound
by the previous decision of a higher court.
 Persuasive Precedents
• These are decisions which are not binding on a
court but to which a judge will attach some
importance.

• For example, decisions given by the superior courts

will be treated with respect in a lower Court.
 Summary Judgment

• A procedural device used during civil litigation  to 
promptly and expeditiously dispose of a case
without  trial. 
• It is used when there is no dispute as to  the
 material facts of the case and a party is 
entitled to judgment as a matter of Law.
• Eg.-res ipsa loquitur
 Partial Defence

• Partial defense is a defense by which the defendant

reduces or mitigate the amount of damages of which
he or she is liable.
• Eg. Contributory negligence
 Absolute Defence

• In law, an absolute defence is a factual

circumstance or argument that, if proven,
will end the litigation in favor of
the defendant.
• Eg.Statute of limitation
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