Maxims on rights and remedies

The essentials

These maxims explain the link between legal rights, legal injury and remedies. The central idea is ubi jus ibi remedium – "where there is a right, there is a remedy". The law of torts uses two contrasting maxims: injuria sine damno (legal injury without actual damage, which is actionable) and damnum sine injuria (actual damage without legal injury, which is not actionable).

Key points

• Ubi jus ibi remedium: every legal right must have a remedy for its violation. Article 32 reflects this idea for Fundamental Rights.
• Injuria sine damno: violation of a legal right is actionable even without monetary loss. Example: Ashby v. White (1703), where a voter was wrongfully prevented from voting; he could sue although his candidate won.
• Damnum sine injuria: loss caused without violating any legal right is not actionable. Example: the Gloucester Grammar School case (1410), where a rival school opened nearby and took away students; the original school could not recover for lost fees.
• Res ipsa loquitur: "the thing speaks for itself". In negligence cases, where an accident would not ordinarily happen without negligence and the thing was under the defendant's control, negligence is presumed and the defendant must explain. Example: a surgical instrument left inside a patient's body.
• Salus populi suprema lex: "the welfare of the people is the supreme law". It justifies restrictions on individual rights in the public interest, for example acquiring land for public purposes or imposing health measures during an epidemic.

Exam tips

• Remember: injuria (legal wrong) matters more than damnum (loss) for an action in tort.
• Res ipsa loquitur is a rule about evidence and burden in negligence, not a separate tort.

Common mistakes

• Swapping the meanings of injuria sine damno and damnum sine injuria.
• Thinking salus populi allows the State to ignore the Constitution.