Delict

Delict (from Latin dēlictum, past participle of dēlinquere ‘to be at fault, offend’) is a term in civil law jurisdictions for a civil wrong consisting of an intentional or negligent breach of duty of care that inflicts loss or harm and which triggers legal liability for the wrongdoer; however, its meaning varies from one jurisdiction to another. Other civil wrongs include breach of contract and breach of trust. Liability is imposed on the basis of moral responsibility, i.e. a duty of care or to act, and fault (culpa) is the main element of liability. The term is used in mixed legal systems such as Scotland, South Africa, Louisiana and the Philippines, but tort is the equivalent legal term used in common law jurisdictions.

The exact meaning of delict varies between legal systems but it is always centred on the Roman law idea of wrongful conduct.

In Spanish law, delito is any breach of criminal law (similar to criminal offence). In Italian law, delitto penale, is the same concept, but delitto civile, like delict in Scots law, is an intentional or negligent act which gives rise to a legal obligation between parties even though there has been no contract between them, akin to common-law tort. German-speaking countries use the word Delikt to refer to criminality (similar to English deliquency), but unerlaubte Handlung is a delict while Deliktsrecht is a branch of civil law (similar to tort law). In French law, délit penal is a misdemeanor (between contravention ‘petty offence’ and crime ‘felony; major indictable offence’), while délit civil, again, is a tort. Because of this, French law prefers to speak in terms of responsabilité civile ‘delictual liability’.

Delict (Scots law)

Delict in Scots Law is, amongst other things, the responsibility to make reparation caused by breach of a duty of care or, arguably, the duty to refrain from committing such breaches. The equivalent in English law and other common law jurisdictions is known as tort law.

Overview

Delict is borrowed from Latin delictum and, as a branch of Scots law, revolves around the fundamental concept damnum injuria datum - literally loss wrongfully caused. Where A has suffered wrongful loss at the hands of B (generally where B was negligent), B is under a legal obligation to make reparation. There are many various delicts which can be committed, ranging from assault to procurement or breach of contract.

Delict deals with the righting of legal wrongs in civil law on the principle of liability for loss caused by failure in the duty of care, whether deliberate or accidental. While it broadly covers the same ground as the English law of tort, the Scots law is different in many respects and concentrates more on general principle and less on specific wrongs. While some terms such as assault and defamation are used in both systems, their technical meanings differ.