Issam HOBBALLAH Monday , March 23, 2015
Invasion of Privacy Cases
Privacy is among the most precious rights of the individual. The first legislation about it had dawned in the 18th century. It was William Blackstone who worked hard in order to enrich the British Justice with legislation which are the foundation stone of the Common Law, nowadays.
We will try to explain in the searching essay, what is a tort? How many torts do we have in Courts?
What are the repercussions and the liabilities in both cases: intentional torts and negligent actions?
What is a tort? What tort is not?
First of all, “tort” is a French word meaning civil wrong. Tort is a wrongful act, a wrongdoing that results in injury to the person's property, dignity, or reputation, which is recognized by statute or Common Law as a legitimate basis for a liability.
There are many types of torts of Invasion of Privacy cases. The main difference between the willful and wanton tort and the one made by negligence, is the voluntary or deliberate conduct. So, when there is determination to act, there is a tort of invasion of privacy.
The courts have mentioned 4 types of torts of invasion cases: Disclosure/ Intrusion/ Appropriation/ False light (similar to defamation).
The physical manners of the invasion comprise:
a) to force your home against your protests
b) to invade your private life and solitude by using binoculars or telescopes from the neighborhood
c) to open your private mail and disclose your own affairs or business
d) to eavesdrop to what other people are planning to do or are debating about.
According to the tribunals’ circles, torts differ from crimes in that crimes are punishable by the state in Criminal Court. Torts generally allow individuals to seek compensation for their injuries in Civil Courts.
However, sometimes an act can be both, a tort and a crime! For instance, threatening to seriously injure someone is in tort law an assault. The victim may be able to sue the perpetrator in civil court for compensation for the emotional distress caused by the assault, while the state may seek jail time in a criminal court.
In order to win a tort lawsuit, the plaintiff (the person who initiated the lawsuit), must show that the defendant (the person accused of wrongdoing in the lawsuit), intended to cause harm or had a duty to act in a particular manner, in spite of that, breached that duty and damages or injuries occurred as a result of the breach.
Nuisance and Negligence are different torts and function differently
Private nuisance is an unreasonable or unlawful interference with a person’s use, or quiet enjoyment of land. It is about some activities on the defendant’s neighboring land. Negligence refers to conduct that falls below the standards established by Law, for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm.
A person would be considered acting negligently, if he or she has departed from the conduct expected of a reasonable person acting under similar circumstances. For instance, in the annals of British Civil Court
In another situation, Miss Jones holds parties in her garden, every weekend and the household has become a rowdy drinking den!! Vibrations from the loud music cause the English teacher’s pictures to fall off his walls and he has no peace at all!
Obviously, in the first case, the plaintiff must prove to the civil court that the defendant (Miss Jones) had a duty to him, and she breached that duty by failing to conform to the required standard of conduct: her negligent conduct was the cause of the harm to him, and he was in fact harmed or damaged.
For the second situation, the persistent invasion of privacy should be treated by the criminal court which is competent to find Miss Jones guilty or not guilty. The sanctions of this court are criminal fines, jail and death. Rulings are given under the statutory law, when liability is proved and confirmed.
To expand on that tort case, when a residential area is close to an industrial activities’ area, there are always complaints against chimney smoke, against noise generated by Lorries etc…
This type of torts can be considered as private and public nuisance in the same time!
We have come to the conclusion that torts of invasion privacy cases are in fact, numerous and might be more varied in the future.
This phenomenon is connected to the progress and development of the country in general.
Legislation should verge on social and cultural evolution. Privacy is as sacred as religion dictate and Justice must apply overwhelming laws against troublemakers, paparazzi, spies and other curious intruders.
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