WJEC Eduqas A Level Law Book 2 sample

Torts connected to land 29 Defences to trespass to land The following are the main defences to trespass to land. 1. Legal authority (or justification by law) A person is not liable for trespass if they have legal authority permitting them to be on that land. Here are four examples: 1. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 gives the public certain rights of access to land, provided that they comply with certain statutory restrictions. 2. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 gives the police certain rights to enter land to make arrests and to search premises. 3. Rights of way established under the common law. Rights of way are recorded on ‘definitive maps’ prepared by a local authority. 4. Common land, which is land where, although it might be owned by someone else, certain people have rights of access through custom for a particular purpose, such as to graze livestock or cut peat for fuel. 2. Consent (licence) including contractual licence A licence to enter land can be received with either the express or implied consent of the person possessing the land. Implied consent can be given in a number of ways. For instance, at the front of a house is a pathway to the front door, and the door has a letterbox and a doorbell. This gives implied consent for persons to walk on the path and come to the front door to deliver a letter or ring the bell to attract the attention of those who live there. A contractual licence to enter land covers situations when a purchaser receives permission to be on land as part of a purchase. For instance, if you buy a cinema ticket to see a film, you receive a contractual licence to go into the cinema. A person becomes a trespasser once express or implied permission is withdrawn or if a person exceeds the limits of the permission. The defence of consent (or licence) can no longer be used once permission is withdrawn. For instance, although there may be implied permission for someone to come to up to a front door and deliver a letter, there is no implied permission for that person to go into the back garden or enter the property. Even if there is a contractual licence, this can be withdrawn. If, having bought a cinema ticket, you are asked to leave the cinema, you will become a trespasser if you stay. In Wood v Leadbitter (1845) , a man was removed from a racecourse despite having bought a ticket. It was held that his contractual licence could be revoked, making him a trespasser. (Of course, if having paid, you are asked to leave, you might have a remedy under the law of contract!) 3. Necessity Necessity has two forms: private and public necessity. Private necessity would involve an act needed to protect your own property against the threat of harm. Public necessity would involve an act to protect the wider public against harm. The case law of necessity when applied to trespass is uncertain. The general rule seems to be that there must be an actual danger and the acts of the defendant must be reasonable in the light of all the facts.