| Ubi jus ibi remedium |
Where there is a right, there is a remedy. |
Ashby v White: Established that if a person has a legal right, the law must provide a means to vindicate and maintain it, even without actual loss. |
| Injuria sine damnum |
Injury (infringement of a legal right) without substantial harm, loss, or damage. |
Bhim Singh v State of J&K: An MLA was wrongfully arrested, violating his constitutional rights, which is actionable per se despite no direct financial damage. |
| Damnum sine injuria |
Damage (actual physical or financial loss) suffered without the infringement of any legal right. |
Gloucester Grammar School Case: Setting up a rival school caused financial loss to the plaintiff, but lawful business competition is not a legal injury. |
| Volenti non fit injuria |
To one who consents, no injury is done. |
Hall v Brooklands Auto Racing Club: A spectator injured at a race track was barred from claiming damages because attending the sport implies voluntary acceptance of its inherent risks. |
| Ex turpi causa non oritur actio |
No action or claim arises from an immoral or illegal act (Plaintiff is a wrongdoer). |
Ashton v Turner: A passenger injured by a negligent driver while both were fleeing a burglary could not claim damages, as the law does not recognize a duty of care between joint criminals. |
| Salus populi supreme lex |
The welfare of the people is the supreme law. |
Surocco v Geary: A mayor ordered the destruction of a plaintiff’s house to stop a raging city fire; public necessity overrides private property rights. |
| Necessitas non habet legem |
Necessity knows no law. |
Leigh v Gladstone: Prison officials forcibly fed a hunger-striking prisoner; the battery was justified by the immediate necessity to save a life. |
| Necessitas vincit legem |
Necessity overcomes the law. |
Cope v Sharpe: A gamekeeper trespassed to burn patches of heather to stop a fire from spreading; the interference was justified to prevent a greater harm. |