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APPLICABILITY OF NATURAL LAW PRINCIPLES TO THE LAW OF NEGLIGENCE IN NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
The
essence of creation of man in any environment is to interact, relate and have
dealings with each other, in these relationships, certain level of moral
standards is expected to be maintained which has necessitated the need for a
guiding of conduct. Hence, the introduction of the law which is regarded as
rules, and principles set out in order to streamline the activities of man with
each other. Natural law theory emphasizes that, law has a divine or
supernatural origin and for human laws to be legally valid, they must conform
to nature of man and dictates of reason. Human laws should stand or fall
according to the dictates of the latter, just as the sun is ordained to rise
from the the east. Also, as it is unavoidable that a man should interact with one
another , the law of Negligence presumes the existence of a duty of care
towards each other, it is however of no doubt that acts and omissions are bound
to arise from such interactions which may result into unforeseen damages
especially , when negligence is involved. Thus, in the course of this work,
effort will be geared towards focusing on how the natural law can be embedded
into the modern law of negligence i.e the law as it is and the law as it ought
to be. By so doing, a framework for harmonizing the two laws would have been
provided.
CHAPTER
ONE
GENERAL
INTRODUCTION
1.0.0:
INTRODUCTION
The
predominance of a set of rules guiding human conduct has always being a
prominent feature of any given society. Hence, it is undeniable that the
doctrine of natural law together with the principles of the law of negligence
are of immense value to the human race. Thus, natural law was the first socio –
political theory that impels us to discover the need to realize and appreciate
how moral objectives and reasons can relate to law, it further leads us to
exercise our minds on issues such as what good law can be used to achieve for
human society. According to Finnis,1 the objectives of natural law is to
identify the conditions and principles of practical mindedness of good and
proper order in the society. It is the postulation of positive hope for the
survival and continuous advancements of human race. Evidently, the theories of
classical natural law has been seen to have made great impact on the Nigeria
Legal System with particular reference to law of Negligence. However, in order
to guarantee the continuous existence of any society, there is need to maintain
an irreducible minimum bond of moral belief and reason. In essence, as it is
natural that no man should do any act or omission that will endanger others,
the law of negligence presumes that, a man owes a duty of care towards another
in ensuring that, he does not engage in any activities or fail to do an act of
which may pose a consequential injury on another man. There is further presumption
of this law that, the natural consequence of a man’s action is intended by him
as he ought to have foreseen what will be the outcome of his actions or
omissions.
In
other words, a man is expected to take extra care and caution in his doings so
that, if he acts in contrary, a case of negligence will be duely established
i.e a breach of a legal duty of care. The basic rule according to Peason J2 is
that;
‘Negligence
consists in doing something which a reasonable man would not do in that
situation or omission to do something which a reasonable man would have done in
that situation’.
To
the naturalist, the essence of natural law may be said to lie in the constant
assertion that, there are certain objective moral principle which can be
discovered by reason. From the foregoing, it is of course no doubt that, a
careful analysis and appraisal of the subject matter under consideration will
definitely reflect that, the law of negligence has a particular term of
reference to natural law.
1.1.0 Background of Study
So
far, natural law thinking has occupied a pervasive role in the realms of
ethics, politics and law from the time of the Greek civilization. Essentially,
it has afforded a moral justification for existing social and economic system
and other legal systems. By arguing what “is” the law is based on a higher law
dictated by reason so is also what the law “ought” to be. Therefore, as a
background to this study, the natural law philosophy stands for the possibility
of having objectives standards which are found by looking for the rational
order in nature and in man.
Department: Law
Format: Microsoft Word
Format: Microsoft Word
Chapters: 1 - 5, Preliminary Pages, Abstract, Bibliography.
Delivery: Email
Delivery: Email
No. of Pages: 99
Price: 3000 NGN
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