Balancing Conflicting Interests Flashcards
(14 cards)
roles of law in society
• protect people from harm (e.g. criminal law)
• ensure a common good (e.g. education)
• settle arguments and disputes (e.g. civil justice system)
involves the balance of interests between the state, the majority of society and minorities within society.
elements
1) nature of rights or interests
2) protecting right or interests (law examples)
3) private/public interest (crime/tort examples)
4) theory
1) nature of rights or interests
interest = what is important to an individual or a right (eg legal right)
Sometimes rights of the individual conflict with those of the majority.
In every area of law there are disputes over whether a person has wrongly interfered with another person’s rights or interests.
Balancing conflicting interests means coming to a compromise to meet the needs of both parties involved in a dispute.
Hornfield: define interests as rights and liberties.
- right = entitlement which imposes a corresponding duty on another (eg. right to receive goods or services under a contract based on the duty of the other party to deliver them)
- liberty = freedom to live in a way one chooses but, there is no corresponding can interent duty. (eg right t private life)
1) nature of rights or interests
- contract example
in the context of consumers, there is a right to receive goods but also a duty to pay for them.
The trader has a duty to supply the goods but also has a right to be paid for them.
2) protecting right or interests
law protects a person’s rights by imposing a corresponding duty on the other party so they are bound in law not to interfere with those rights.
Where there is a conflict or interference, the law must balance the interests of both parties in an attempt to achieve justice.
Examples of how law has sought to achieve an appropriate balance of conflicting interests
- criminal law
- civil burden of proof
Criminal law
Self-defence: protects the interests of D who has some justification in using force.
- allowance for a mistaken belief that force is needed (Gladstone Williams) but not if that mistake was induced by alcohol (O Grady)
dev of duress of circumstances: indicates a shift towards the interests of the defendant.
Civil burden of proof
The burden of proof in civil cases falls on the one who makes the assertion (Claimant)
EXCEPT frustration: D is asserting that he couldn’t carry out his obligations under the contract because of third party interference.
- Taylor v Caldwell burden fell on D to establish that he couldn’t complete the contract because a fire had burned down the venue.
- general rule ‘he who asserts must prove’ treats both parties in an impartial and balanced manner.
role of court
courts must consider what is the most reasonable/ fair outcome for
BOTH parties in the dispute.
Sometimes, this will mean both parties receive equality of treatment.
BUT, an appropriate balance can also be one which gives priority to one party over the other (Miller)
3) private/ public interests
PRIVATE interests = individual interests.
Where there is a legal issue involving conflicting private interests, the court must resolve by balancing the individual interests to come to the most fair outcome for both parties.
E.g. B sues C for breach of contract as B sells C goods but C fails to pay due to going bankrupt. The court makes an order for the amount to be paid in manageable instalments.
PUBLIC interests = interests of society community as a whole
example cases of private v public
TORT
Miller v Jackson
- woman’s life made miserable by cricket balls being hit into her garden
- was refused an injunction to stop it. - whole community gained a benefit at the discomfort of one individual, so public interest prevailed.
- courts balanced private interest of Mrs Miller v private interest of cricket club v public interest of the activity
example cases of private v public
CRIME
Majewski
- Public interest of:
• Protecting the public from violence by drunken individuals
• intoxication not being allowed as a defence
V
- Private interest
• right to drink
• doesn’t possess the mens rea of the crime
compromise that intoxication is a defence to crimes which require intention, but not those which can be committed recklessly on the basis that getting drunk in itself supplies the recklessness for the crime.
theorists
(Hornfield)
Bentham utilitarianism
- Jehring strongly influenced. law should achieve balance/justice with emphasis on needs of society. justice measured by how much it adheres to balance between social/private interests
Pound if conflict, law should engineer balance to achieve greatest social cohesion
- balance interests of same level against each other, not public v private
Miller v Jackson
