General defences and volenti non fit injuria
LUG-101 Law of Torts including Motor Vehicle Accident and Consumer Protection Act, Unit II: Volenti non fit injuria. · LLB · 60 min
Unit II is about justification in tort: the defences that let a defendant escape liability although every element of a tort is present. This lecture lists all the general defences with one line each and then studies the first and most examined of them, volenti non fit injuria: its meaning, express and implied consent, the rule that knowledge is not consent (scienti non fit injuria, Smith v. Baker), consent in sports, consent obtained by fraud or compulsion, and its limits (unfair contract terms, the defendant's negligence, the rescue cases and the drunken-driver cases). It answers the past questions of 2017-18 (A4), 2019-20 (C1), 2022-23 (1(a), 3(a)), 2023-24 (1(b)), 2024-25 (2(a)) and 2025-26 (2(b)).
Objectives
- List the general defences in tort and distinguish general defences from the specific defences of particular torts.
- Explain the maxim volenti non fit injuria, its two forms (consent to an intentional act, assumption of a risk) and its essentials.
- Show with Smith v. Baker and Sons why the maxim is volenti non fit injuria and not scienti non fit injuria.
- Apply the defence to sports and spectators (Hall v. Brooklands, Wooldridge v. Sumner) and to Indian facts (Padmavati v. Dugganaika).
- State the limits of the defence: free consent, unfair contract terms, the defendant's negligence, the rescue cases and the drunken-driver cases.
Slides
- Justification in tort: the general defences
- Volenti non fit injuria: meaning and the two forms
- Essentials of the defence
- Scienti non fit injuria? Knowledge is not consent: Smith v. Baker and Sons (1891)
- Sports and spectators: Hall v. Brooklands (1933) and Wooldridge v. Sumner (1963)
- An Indian case: Padmavati v. Dugganaika (1975)
- Consent obtained by fraud or under compulsion
- Limits of the defence (1): unfair contract terms and the defendant's negligence
- Limits of the defence (2): the rescue cases
- Limits of the defence (3): passengers of a drunk driver
- Volenti and contributory negligence compared; the Indian position
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