The main task of the theory of state and law in studying torts in society is to reveal the social essence of this phenomenon. To analyze its social meaning, it is necessary, first of all, to know what a tort is. Torts are inextricably linked with the law, which regulates only social relations, such as the relations of people: individual individuals or their organizations. The disclosure of the concept of an offense is an essential prerequisite for thinking about eliminating the social phenomenon under consideration.
Firstly, it is necessary to understand what the concept of a tort is. A tort is a socially dangerous, guilty, illegal act that entails legal responsibility (Avraham & Golden, 2018). In the social sense, this is human behavior that contradicts or can harm the rights and interests of citizens and society as a whole. One of the features of the tort is illegality. Illegality is when the act contradicts the rule of conduct established by the norm of law. It means that the relevant regulatory legal actions must necessarily prohibit it. Thus, the tort may pose a danger or threat to the individual, public safety, and even state power.
One of the fundamental factors used in criminal law to classify crimes committed by citizens against other persons or real estate is the presence of deliberate intent. Following this factor, all crimes are grouped into acts that were caused intentionally, as well as those acts that are associated with careless handling. Intentional crimes are recognized as intentional acts that a person committed with direct or indirect intent. It is possible to protect oneself from charges of deliberate offense, depending on the type of intent.
In human society, people are increasingly faced with an unfair attitude to their duties, which leads to irreversible consequences. Negligence can manifest itself in various spheres of human life: in the field of medicine, construction, industry, military service, etc. The problem of negligence is of a large-scale nature and is a painful topic for society (Agule, 2021). Negligence is an inattentive and negligent attitude to one’s duties, the cause of which may be a threat to the safety of other people. Negligence has a tremendous negative impact on human activity since the negligence of officials causes significant damage to nature, the interests of the state-protected by law, causes harm to citizens’ health and entails the death of people.
The traditional institution of “strict “or “absolute” responsibility remained in US law even after the reform in the states. Such fault occurs in the presence of material elements of the crime when the fact of violation of the law itself is established, and proof of the offender’s guilt is not required (Moore, 2018). The offenses of strict liability under the Criminal Code of the states, in particular, include trade-in substandard or falsified food, many violations of the law on combating the distribution and possession of drugs, etc. This form of liability can prevent the production and sale of low-quality products since the violation is sufficient, and it is not necessary to prove the guilt of the enterprise.
The tort law reform refers to the proposed changes in the civil justice system. The proposed changes aim to reduce the ability of victims to file claims for tort offenses or lessen the damage they can receive. Proponents of tort reform in the United States propose, among other things, procedural restrictions on the possibility of filing claims and limiting the amount of compensation for damage (Avraham & Golden, 2018). Proponents of the existing tort system, including consumer advocates, argue that the reformers have distorted any real factual problem and criticize the tort reform as disguised corporate welfare. Thus, this issue is the subject of many disputes and should be carefully considered on both sides.
References
Agule, C. K. (2021). Minding Negligence. Criminal Law and Philosophy, 1-21. Web.
Avraham, R., & Golden, J. M. (2018). “From PI to IP”: Litigation Response to Tort Reform. American Law and Economics Review, 20(1), 168-213. Web.
Moore, M. S. (2018). The strictness of strict liability. Criminal Law and Philosophy, 12(3), 513-529. Web.