Civil Liability of the Police Service under the Tort of Negligence: A Comparison between England, New Zealand and Switzerland

Abstract

This paper analyses the liability of the police service under the tort of negligence in England and New Zealand as well as the public law liability of police officers in Switzerland, specifically in the canton of Zurich. It provides some background on the approach taken by courts in England and New Zealand when analysing novel duties of care as well as briefly setting out certain particularities of Switzerland that make it distinct. It further analyses the elements of the tort of negligence, with a particular focus on omissions, and compares them to the corresponding elements in Swiss public liability law. It concludes by setting out a number of lessons that the common law courts may learn from the Swiss approach and vice versa when next deciding a case of police liability.