Absolute duties

There may well be extenuating circumstances, Nostradamus said, but that is for the Council to determine, not me. The salient fact is that the book is evidence in a series of murders and I have an absolute duty to turn it over to the Council. With deepest regret I must decline your request. ... 

The Cooperative is also correct that the District Court in this case had discretion. The Controlled Substances Act vests district courts with jurisdiction to enjoin violations of the Act, 21 U.S.C. 882(a). But a grant of jurisdiction to issue [equitable relief] hardly suggests an absolute duty to do so under any and all circumstances, Hecht, supra, at 329 (emphasis omitted). Because the District Court s use of equitable power is not textually required by any clear and valid legislative command, the court did not have to issue an injunction. 

I believe it to be the absolute duty of knowledgeable people in government, in science, in the professions, in business, in labor, and in the universities to take part in the framing of the issues of their time and to work toward their determination. If the issues are to be so framed that a democracy can act upon them, it is our obligation as public and private citizens to become informed, to participate, to propose, and to act. 

Most schools staff have long carried out informal safety checks on a day-to-day basis and have involved pupils in safety education through posters, units of work and questioning about safe practice— they have taught safely and taught safety. There is also, however, an absolute duty on employers, the LEA or governing body, to carry out a formal, systematic... 

If a regulation is not qualified with so far as is reasonably practicable , then it must be assumed that the regulation is absolute. In the context of the Electricity at Work Regulations, where the risk is very often death by electrocution, the level of duty to prevent danger more often approaches that of an absolute duty of care. 

Electricity at Work Regulations, where the risk is very often death by electrocution, the level of duty to prevent danger more often approaches that of an absolute duty of care. 

Although made under the HSW, which requires that standards have to be met so far as is reasonably practicable, because of the dangers inherent in the use of electricity certain of the regulations are absolute requirements, i.e. they must be compHed with regardless of cost. However, it is recognized that if employers have taken all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing an offence they will have fulfilled this absolute duty, but it will be up to them to prove it if an inspector queries it. 

Many of the health and safety management requirements contained in health and safety law place an absolute duty on the employer. The need for written safety policies and risk assessments when employee numbers rise above a basic threshold are examples of this. 

This level of duty Is more often used than the absolute duty as far as the provision of safeguards is concerned and, in many ways, has the same effect. A duty that the employer ensure, so far as is practicable, that any control measure is maintained in an efficient state means that if the duty is technically possible or feasible then it must be done irrespective of any difficulty, inconvenience or cost. Examples of this duty may be found in the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (Regulation 11(2) (a and b)) and the Control of Lead at Work Regulations where Regulation 14 states, Every employer who provides any control measure. .. shall ensure, so far as is practicable, that it is maintained in an efficient state. .. and in good repair . 

Many of the provisions of the Factories Act and similar legislation created specific and absolute duties, e.g. Section 14(1) of this Act Every dangerous part of any machineiy shall be securely fenced , and Section 22(2) Every hoist or lift shall be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least once in every period of six months... . However, some of the requirements were qualified by the words practicable or reasonably practicable, e.g. Section 4 ... provision shall be made for securing... adequate ventilation and for rendering harmless so far as practicable, all such fumes, dust.. . as may be injurious to health , and Section 29(1) There shall, as far as is reasonably practicable, be provided and maintained safe means of access to every place at which any person has at atty time to work... . 

In some circumstances further precautions will need to be taken, such as earthing, to coxmter the effects of any stored or induced electrical charge. A permit to work system (PTW), explained in more detail in section 4.4.10, may also be used. Although EAW regulation 14 permits live working this must first be properly justified and then suitable precautions must be taken to prevent injury (an absolute duty ). Thus dead working is the norm and the preferred choice. 

Some regulations do not have the so far as is reasonably practicable caveat. Many of these regulations have an absolute duty for compliance for example, in the Electricity at Work Regulations, Regulation 10 requires that every joint and connection in a system shall be mechanically and electrically suitable for use. In cases such as this, a person charged with an offence under the Regulation has the defence of due diligence available. 

Note that this Regulation does not attract the so far as is reasonably practicable caveat - it is an absolute duty that equipment used for protective purposes has to be suitable, and properly maintained and used. 

Nuclear site licence holders are also covered by section 7 of the Nuclear Installations Act which imposes an absolute duty to prevent damage or injury in relation to nuclear matter and sets up a... 

Employers have an absolute duty to make suitable and sufficient assessment of health and safety risks, including risks from fire. They must take into account employees and others who may be affected by their work activities. The purpose of the risk assessment is for the employer to be able to ascertain what they have to do to comply with their legal obligations. Particular attention has to be given to assess risks where young persons (that is, people under 18 years of age) may be at risk. This regulation also requires employers to record the results of risk assessments and to review risk assessments. 

The RRFSO identifies a number of general fire precautions that all responsible persons have an absolute duty to provide for all non-domestic premises. These general fire precautions are the measures that are taken ... 

The classic instance of an absolute duty is in Reg. 5(1) of the PUWER which states Every employer shall ensure that work equipment is so constructed or adapted as to be suitable for the purpose for which it is to be used or provided. Absolute duties are defined by the terms shall or must. 

There are three levels or types of duty imposed by statute, which allow different responses to hazards. These are absolute duty, duty to do what is practicable, and duty to take steps that are reasonably practicable. Over the years, a body of case law has built up which gives guidance on the meaning of these duties in practice. Mostly, the cases have been decided in common law, in the course of actions for personal injuries which were based on alleged breach of statutory duty. 

There is an absolute duty on employers with five or more employees to prepare and revise as necessary a written statement of safety policy, which details the general policy and the particular organisation and arrangements for carrying it out. The policy must be brought to the notice of all the employees (section 2(3)). 

Defines car defects with regard to wheels, axles and boxes, body and couplers. Freight cars must be inspected for defects before a train departs and also when cars are interchanged between railroads. While cars are often owned by shippers and third parties, the requirement for compliance with the Act is with the railroad. A railroad should refuse to accept such a defective car, or just haul it to a place of repair. Three Supreme Court cases going back to 1895 indicate railroad has an absolute duty to inspect cars it receives from another railroad, and hence is liable from harms caused by a defective car (Kenworthy, 1989). 

---