- For the Physics term representing energy lost in a collision, see: Coefficient of restitution
The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery. Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. The coefficient of restitution or COR of an object is a fractional value representing the ratio of velocities before and after an impact It is to be contrasted with the law of compensation, which is the law of loss-based recovery. In Law, damages refers to the money paid or awarded to a Claimant (England Pursuer (Scotland or Plaintiff (US following a successful Obligations to make restitution and obligations to pay compensation are each a type of legal response to events in the real world. When a court orders restitution it orders the defendant to give up his gains to the claimant. A court is a forum used by a power base to adjudicate disputes and dispense civil, labour administrative and criminal Justice under its When a court orders compensation it orders the defendant to compensate the claimant for his loss.
Restitution, like other legal responses, can be triggered by any one of a variety of causative events. These are events in the real world which trigger a legal response. Broadly speaking, an obligation to make restitution can be triggered by two different types of causative event:
- Wrongs
- Unjust enrichment
It is arguable that other types of causative event can also trigger an obligation to make restitution, but the above two are by far the most important. Unjust enrichment is a Legal term in English law and in several other jurisdictions denoting a particular type of causative event in which one party is They will be considered in turn. It should be pointed out at this stage that the following analysis is based on English law. English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of Common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the However, it is largely an analysis of principle rather than case law and therefore should have considerable relevance for most common law systems.
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Restitution for wrongs
Imagine that A commits a wrong against B and B sues in respect of that wrong. A will certainly be liable to pay compensation to B. If B seeks compensation then the court award will be measured by reference to the loss that B has suffered as a result of A’s wrongful act. However, in certain circumstances it will be open to B to seek restitution rather than compensation. It will be in his interest to do so if the profit that A made by his wrongful act is greater than the loss suffered by B.
Whether or not a claimant can seek restitution for a wrong depends to a large extent on the particular wrong in question. For example, in English law, restitution for breach of fiduciary duty is widely available but restitution for breach of contract is fairly exceptional. fiduciary duty is a legal relationship of confidence or trust between two or more parties most commonly a fiduciary or Trustee and a principal A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law The wrong could be of any one of the following types:
- A statutory tort
- A common law tort
- An equitable wrong
- A breach of contract
Notice that (1)-(4) are all causative events (see above). Tort law is the name given to a body of law that creates and provides remedies for civil wrongs that do not arise out of Contractual duties The law responds to each of them by imposing an obligation to pay compensatory damages. Restitution for wrongs is the subject which deals with the issue of when exactly the law also responds by imposing an obligation to make restitution.
Example. In Attorney-General v Blake [2001] 1 AC 268, an English court found itself faced with the following claim. The defendant had made a profit somewhere in the region of £60,000 as a direct result of breaching his contract with the claimant. The claimant was undoubtedly entitled to claim compensatory damages but had suffered little or no identifiable loss. It therefore decided to seek restitution for the wrong of breach of contract. The claimant won the case and the defendant was ordered to pay over his profits to the claimant. However, the court was careful to point out that the normal legal response to a breach of contract is to award compensation. An order to make restitution was said to be available only in exceptional circumstances.
Restitution to reverse unjust enrichment
See the page on unjust enrichment. Unjust enrichment is a Legal term in English law and in several other jurisdictions denoting a particular type of causative event in which one party is
Theological Meaning
Restitution in moral theology signifies an act of commutative justice by which exact reparation as far as possible is made for an injury that has been done to another. Restitution in Moral theology signifies an act of commutative justice by which exact reparation as far as possible is made for an injury that has been done to another Ethics is a branch of Philosophy dealing with right and wrong in human behavior [1]
References
- ^ Restitution - Catholic Encyclopedia article
See also
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia Equity is the name given to the set of legal principles in jurisdictions following the English common law tradition which supplement strict rules of law where Blood money is Money paid as a fine to the next of kin of somebody who was killed intentionallyDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic