Doctrine of Vicarious Liability

Hello readers

Vicarious liability or master and servant relationship 

 Before going to know about vicarious liability, we should know what is liability?

Liability is nothing but violation of law or legal norms which may be in civil or criminal nature and Therefore it can give rises to civil liability and criminal liability.

Civil liability are civil wrongs or private infringement of rights and whoever breaches civil wrongs then they are liable under remedial liability like damages and compensation whereas criminal liability are public wrongs committed against state and whoever breaches criminal wrongs then they are liability for penal liability such as punishment or fine.

Now come back to vicarious liability 

Generally a person is liable for his own wrongful or unlawful acts and that person is held liable for committing such offences. In certain cases, however, vicarious liability, deals with the cases where one person is liable for the acts of others.

The common example of vicarious liability are

1. Master and servant relationship 

2. Principal and agent 

3.partners relationship 

Master and servant relationship 

A master is the one who employs a servant to do certain acts under his direction and control and if that servant breaches law or breaks law then master is liable but not the servant.

To constitute the liability of the master, then following essential ingredients should be fulfilled

1. The wrong committed by servant 

2. The wrong committed by the servant during the course of employment.

Example:if a master driver hits a car and injured someone badly during the course of employment, then master is liable but not servant.

Therefore the whole doctrine of vicarious liability is based on 2 maxims i.e

1. Qui facit per alium facit per se:

It means if a person does an act through another shall be deemed to do an act by himself.

2.Respondant superior:

It means that the superior or master should be held responsible for the acts done by others or servant..

Inter state council

 The Inter-State Council is a non-permanent constitutional body established by presidential order in accordance with Article 263 of the Indian Constitution. On the proposal of the Sarkaria Commission, the body was established by presidential order dated 28 May 1990. The Council was set up to examine or investigate policies, topics of common interest, and to resolve the disputes among states.
The Inter-State Council is established under Article 263 of the Indian constitution. This will help the Center and States work together more effectively. It is the most dynamic platform for discussing policy, strengthening Centre-State relations, and serving as a bridge between the Center and the States' trust deficits. 
Article 263 states: If the President deems it necessary in the public interest to do so by forming a Council to: Investigate and advise on potential disputes between States; Or to inquire into and discuss matters of common interest to some or all States or Union to one or more States; or to make recommendations on any such issue, particularly recommendations for better coordination.

Definition

The Inter-State Council is a recommendation body that studies and discusses matters of common interest to one or more states in order to improve policy and action coordination on those subjects.

Aims 

Decentralization of power to the states to the greatest extent practicable. 
More financial resources will be transferred to the states. 
Devolution arrangements that allow states to meet their obligations. 
Loan advances to governments should be referred to as "the productive principle.

Composition

The Inter-State Council composes of the following members:
Prime Minister, Chairman.
Chief Ministers of all states.
Chief Ministers of the union territories having legislative assemblies.
Administrators of the union territories not having legislative assemblies.
6 Union Cabinet Ministers, including Home Minister, to be nominated by the Prime Minister.
Governors of the states being administered under President's rule.
Standing Committee
Home Minister, Chairman
5 Union Cabinet Ministers
9 Chief Ministers.
The nation can progress only if the Union and State Governments work hand in hand. There are many challenges to maintain a federation. For a soothing functioning of the system, it is necessary to conduct periodic debates and discussions.

Functions of inter state council 

Inquiring into and advising on potential inter-state disputes: 
Investigating and debating issues that are of common concern to the states or the union. 
Making suggestions on any such subject for better policy and action coordination on that subject.
Powers
The powers of the Interstate Council are outlined in Article 263 of the Indian Constitution: 
Interest and advise in the event of a potential state-to-state conflict: 
To investigate and debate issues of common concern to the states of the Union. 
Make suggestions on any topic to better coordinate policy and action.
The Inter-State Council serves as a vehicle for collaboration, coordination, and the development of common policies. The interstate council will convene three times a year, according to the proposal. However, it has only convened 11 times in 26 years. After a ten-year hiatus, the most recent gathering was held in Delhi in July 2016.