Presentation
Tort Liability of Churches for Clergy Child Abuse after the Royal Commission: Implications of Developments in the Law of Vicarious Liability and Non-Delegable Duty
Melbourne Law School Obligations Group, Torts Conference Dec 2018
(2018)
Abstract
While the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has made a number
of recommendations concerning a range of Australian institutions, some of the most difficult issues
concern the liability of Christian churches. While the churches are committed to being part of a
statutory recompense scheme, there seems no doubt that general tort liability will remain for some
victims, and in relation to churches there are a number of unresolved problems. Questions
surrounding corporate personality and who may be sued need to be answered. In particular, however,
there is still some uncertainty in Australian law as to whether sexual abuse committed by clergy can
be sheeted home to churches under the principles of vicarious liability or non-delegable duty. This
paper explores these issues, including recent statutory responses, and suggests some ways forward for
common law courts.
Keywords
- vicarious liability,
- non-delegable duty,
- child abuse,
- Royal Commission into Child Abuse
Disciplines
- Civil Law,
- Religion Law and
- Torts
Publication Date
December 7, 2018
Location
Melbourne, Vic
Citation Information
Neil J Foster. "Tort Liability of Churches for Clergy Child Abuse after the Royal Commission: Implications of Developments in the Law of Vicarious Liability and Non-Delegable Duty" Melbourne Law School Obligations Group, Torts Conference Dec 2018 (2018) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/neil_foster/127/