Policy considerations have impacted upon many areas of tort law. Choose one of these areas and assess the impact of policy.

Policy considerations have impacted upon many areas of tort law. Choose one of these areas and assess the impact of policy.Economic loss claims

By the end of this presentation you should understand:
What the assignment is about
How to research the assignment
The assignment criteria (what is expected of you)
How to get help with the assignment
How to submit your assignment
How your assignment will be assessed

Break down the title:
(1) Policy considerations have (2) impacted upon many (3) areas of tort law. Choose (4) one of these areas and assess the impact of policy.

Policy considerations—Meaning?
The definition is malleable/a moving feast!
Your last ISL task asked you to find three textbook definitions. Go back to your task as a starting point.
Your first ISL task, Question 4, asked you to post answers about policy concerns & the “hot coffee” case to the discussion board. Have a look at the responses here.

Discussion Board Question 4: Principle v Policy
In explaining a common use of the phrase policy Horsey and Rackley say “…policy tends to be used to describe a particular subset of factors or arguments that the courts may employ when deciding cases”. They cite the legal philosopher, Dworkin who “…distinguished ‘policy’ from ‘principle’… [by saying] principles are based on notions of individual fairness and justice, while policy… covers so-called collective goals such as wealth maximisation or the encouragement of particular activities or trades… Policy is anything other than arguments of justice and morality” (2015: 7). Using this distinction what principles and policies do you think were at play in the Liebeck v McDonalds?

EGs: Discussion Board Post Question 4
“Policies at play in the Liebeck v McDonalds case was that McDonalds chose to maximise their wealth by ignoring 700 cases of injury due to hot coffee. McDonalds needed to take some responsibility for their action; they were at fault [moral considerations?]. Another policy may be to send a message to other businesses to be careful of the temperature of hot drinks” [encourage better behaviour / raise standards?] (Burcu Hamarat)
Policies are based… on the social impact, how it will affect the whole society and not just an individual (collective goals)…(Fatoumata Konteh Jawora)
EGs: Discussion Board Post Question 4
“Policy… [was] about protecting society and avoiding the same incident [happening] again… the punitive damages [imposed] on McDonalds [were] to encourage them to change the brewing temperatures of their coffee, also to deter other companies in order to avoid future injuries” (Jonathan Rahman-Bonnin)
“Policies at play here are based on how society [as] a whole [would] be affected. Such as preventing other injuries to customers due to the coffee” (Ithiel Akakpo)

Policy considerations—meaning (continued)?
“Outside” factors which influence courts in their decision making.
Judges think about what is in the best interests of society as a whole.
So a case is not just about issues presented by the parties.