STATUTORY AUTHORITY: AN ABSOLUTE DEFENCE
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Abstract
Statutory authority in the law of tort is a defence to claim that the defendant was authorized by some statute to do an act for which he was accused. A statutory authority is a body established up by law which is authorized to enact legislation on behalf of the country or relevant state. It is the authority that is derived from a statute or law, or a piece of legislation. The most fundamental underlined philosophy behind this principle is that lesser private right might yield to the greater public interest. This authority exist because of lesser personal rights can be ignored in favor of a larger public good also the defence exists not only because of the acts authorized by the act but also to all inevitable consequences of that act. This includes harm that is accompanying the exercise of such authority. The powers conferred by the legislature should be exercised with judgment and caution so that no unnecessary damage is done, the person must do so in good faith and must not exceed the powers granted by the statute otherwise he will be liable.
The defence of statutory authority can be applied when an act or conduct is authorized by a statute, but it can extend to all inevitable consequences of that act. If the act is not authorized by any statute and any injury (must be Damnum sine injuria) comes, the plaintiff is entitled to compensation. But if the act done by any persons who has the power to do that by the statute does something for which he is not authorized and does something beyond the course of employment he cannot take the defence of statutory authority and the state will also not be liable because at the time of the wrong committed he was not in the course of employment. In this defence the plaintiff must show that there is negligence on the side of the accused in order to claim compensation. The act committed by the person who is authorized by the statute must show that the act was for the public good and it was with due care and no negligence was there in accordance of the act. The compensation can be awarded when the act committed was foreseeable and then also it was committed.
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