Principles-Based Reform of the Law of Negligence: Not as Easy as it Sounds?

Many of the concerns of the tort reform lobby in Australia related to liability in respect to recreational activities. These concerns prompted the Ipp Panel, charged with the task of making suggestions for principles-based reform of the law of negligence, to recommend that legislation should be enacted to restrict claims by those involved in certain types of recreational activity.¹ Although the Ipp Panel made clear that its recommendations were a set of guiding principles rather than legislative language, the recommendations in this area formed the basis of statutory provisions in a number of Australian jurisdictions.² Fallas v Mourlas³ provided the first opportunity, in the context of the New South Wales legislation, for an appellate court to consider the meaning of these provisions.⁴