The quantification of damages under Maltese tort law – an analysis of Butler vs. Heard in consideration of past, present and proposed legislation

Abstract

The establishment of fault on the part of the tortfeasor and the determination and quantification of compensatory damages payable to the victim of the tort form the basis of Maltese tort law. Articles 1045 and 1046 of the Civil Code provide a total of four heads of damages under which compensation may be claimed. As the French Court of Cassation has reiterated continuously, such compensation is to be viewed not in a punitive light but as compensation for any harm suffered and which will place the victim back in the position he was in before such tort was committed, known as restitutio in integrum. Locally, in Mario Camilleri vs Mario Borg et noe, the Court has highlighted this principle stating that, ‘Il-Ġustizzja li taf il-Qorti hija dik li fil-limiti tar-realta` u kemm huwa possibli, terġa tpoġġi il-vittma, ta’ kwalsiasi att inġust, fl-istat li kienet qabel.’