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Law vocabulary · Rights & Obligations

Strict liability

Meaning in law, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In law, strict liability means: Legal responsibility for harm that arises even when the person was not careless or at fault, for example for certain defective products or dangerous activities.

In Turkish: kusursuz sorumluluk

How it is used

Used in tort law, product liability and regulatory criminal law ('strict liability offences', such as many traffic and food safety offences). Lawyers contrast it with 'fault-based liability'. The claimant does not need to prove negligence, only that the harm was caused.

Example sentences

  1. Manufacturers face strict liability for injuries caused by defective products.

  2. Speeding is a strict liability offence in England, so the driver's intentions are irrelevant.

Common collocations

  • strict liability offence
  • impose strict liability
  • strict liability in tort
  • fault-based liability
  • liabilityLegal responsibility for something, especially the duty to pay for harm, loss or debts; in accounting, also an amount that a company owes.
  • negligenceFailure to take the care that a reasonable person would take in the same situation, which causes harm or loss to someone else.
  • tortA wrongful act, other than a breach of contract, that causes harm to another person and allows them to claim compensation in a civil court.
  • liableLegally responsible for something, especially for paying for loss or damage that you have caused or for a debt.
  • duty of careA legal obligation to take reasonable care to avoid causing foreseeable harm to other people; the first thing a claimant must show in a negligence case.

More terms: Rights & Obligations

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.