| 释义 |
civil liability contribution
The right of a person who is liable for damage to recover from any other person who is liable for the same damage a contribution to represent that person’s share of responsibility for the damage. When two or more people are liable for causing the same damage, the injured person is entitled to recover full compensation for his losses from any one of them. The wrongdoer who is sued may then ask for contribution from the other wrongdoers. Since the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978, the right to contribution is available in all forms of civil liability, whether tort, breach of contract, breach of trust, or otherwise. The court assesses the amount of contribution on the basis of what would be just and equitable, taking into account the parties’ responsibility for the damage. The term “damage” should be given its ordinary and natural meaning and, for the avoidance of doubt, it does not mean “damages” (i.e. compensation). The concept of the “same damage” is not straightforward and was considered in the case of Royal Brompton Hospital NHS Trust v Hammond (No. 3) [2002] UKHL 15, [2002] 1 WLR 1397. |