Man on the Clapham omnibus: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Hypothetical reasonable person in law}}
{{Short description|Hypothetical reasonable person in law}}
{{use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
[[File:Clapham Omnibus - geograph.org.uk - 3049778.jpg|300px|thumb|A historical Brixton to Clapham horse-drawn bus on display at [[London Bus Museum]].]]
[[File:Clapham Omnibus - geograph.org.uk - 3049778.jpg|275px|thumb|A historical Brixton to Clapham horse-drawn bus on display at [[London Bus Museum]].]]
[[File:E136 a (15337559191).jpg|300px|thumb|A modern route 88 bus heading to Clapham Common]]
[[File:E136 a (15337559191).jpg|275px|thumb|A modern route 88 bus heading to Clapham Common]]
The '''man on the Clapham omnibus''' is a hypothetical ordinary and [[reasonable person]], used by the courts in [[English law]] where it is necessary to decide whether a party has acted as a reasonable person would – for example, in a [[tort|civil action]] for negligence. The character is a reasonably educated, intelligent but nondescript person, against whom the defendant's conduct can be measured.
The '''man on the Clapham omnibus''' is a hypothetical ordinary and [[reasonable person]], used by the courts in [[English law]] where it is necessary to decide whether a party has acted as a reasonable person would – for example, in a [[tort|civil action]] for negligence. The character is a fairly educated, intelligent but undistinguished person, against whom the defendant's conduct can be measured.


The term was introduced into English law during the [[Victorian era]], and is still an important concept in British law<!--British not English because in 2014 the UK supreme court used it in ruling on a Scottish case-->. It is also used in other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] common law jurisdictions, sometimes with suitable modifications to the phrase as an aid to local comprehension. The route of the original "[[Clapham]] [[Horsebus|omnibus]]" is unknown but [[London Buses route 88]], which terminates at [[Omnibus Theatre]], was briefly branded as "the Clapham Omnibus" in the 1990s and is sometimes associated with the term.<ref name="hBvzH">{{cite book | title=Time out London guide | publisher=Penguin Books | year=1995 | pages=103 | quote=The 88 bus, recently and rather self-consciously styled "The Clapham Omnibus", starts its pleasantly circuitous route from here, to points north of the River.}}</ref><ref name="OklRN">{{cite journal | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JtpUAAAAMAAJ | title=Paul Rainford on bus branding | author=Rainford, Paul | journal=Design | year=1993 | issue=533 | pages=43 | quote=The Clapham Omnibus is the shape of things to come. Run by London General (an LT company) on route 88 between Clapham Common and Oxford Circus, this single- decker, Wigan- built Volvo B10B model sports its own jaunty graphics, designed by the Best Impressions consultancy}}</ref><ref name="4mgvS">{{cite book | url=http://www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/cs37.pdf | title=A Cost Too Far? | publisher=Civitas | author=Milne, Ian | year=2004 | pages=24 | isbn=9781903386378 | quote=bus seats on the number 88 London bus — the Clapham omnibus — are made in Australia}}</ref>
The term was introduced into English law during the [[Victorian era]], and is still an important concept in British law<!--British not English because in 2014 the UK supreme court used it in ruling on a Scottish case-->. It is also used in other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] common law jurisdictions, sometimes with suitable modifications to the phrase as an aid to local comprehension. The route of the original "[[Clapham]] [[Horsebus|omnibus]]" is unknown, but [[London Buses route 88]], which terminates at [[Omnibus Theatre]], was briefly branded as "the Clapham Omnibus" in the 1990s and is sometimes associated with the term.<ref name="hBvzH">{{cite book | title=Time out London guide | publisher=Penguin Books | year=1995 | pages=103 | quote=The 88 bus, recently and rather self-consciously styled "The Clapham Omnibus", starts its pleasantly circuitous route from here, to points north of the River.}}</ref><ref name="OklRN">{{cite journal | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JtpUAAAAMAAJ | title=Paul Rainford on bus branding | author=Rainford, Paul | journal=Design | year=1993 | issue=533 | pages=43 | quote=The Clapham Omnibus is the shape of things to come. Run by London General (an LT company) on route 88 between Clapham Common and Oxford Circus, this single- decker, Wigan- built Volvo B10B model sports its own jaunty graphics, designed by the Best Impressions consultancy}}</ref><ref name="4mgvS">{{cite book | url=http://www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/cs37.pdf | title=A Cost Too Far? | publisher=Civitas | author=Milne, Ian | year=2004 | pages=24 | isbn=9781903386378 | quote=bus seats on the number 88 London bus — the Clapham omnibus — are made in Australia}}</ref>


==History==
==History==
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It may be derived from the phrase "Public opinion ... is the opinion of the bald-headed man at the back of the omnibus",<ref name="60c9Z">{{Citation |last=Bagehot |first=Walter |author-link=Walter Bagehot |year=1873 |orig-year=1867 |title=The English Constitution |publisher=Little, Brown, and co |pages=325–326 |url=https://archive.org/details/englishconstitu00bagegoog}}</ref> a description by the 19th-century journalist [[Walter Bagehot]] of a normal London man. [[Clapham]], in [[South London]], was at the time a nondescript [[commuting|commuter]] suburb seen to represent "ordinary" London, and in the 19th century would have been served by [[horsebus|horse-drawn omnibuses]].
It may be derived from the phrase "Public opinion ... is the opinion of the bald-headed man at the back of the omnibus",<ref name="60c9Z">{{Citation |last=Bagehot |first=Walter |author-link=Walter Bagehot |year=1873 |orig-year=1867 |title=The English Constitution |publisher=Little, Brown, and co |pages=325–326 |url=https://archive.org/details/englishconstitu00bagegoog}}</ref> a description by the 19th-century journalist [[Walter Bagehot]] of a normal London man. [[Clapham]], in [[South London]], was at the time an undistinguished [[commuting|commuter]] suburb seen to represent "ordinary" London, and in the 19th century would have been served by [[horsebus|horse-drawn omnibuses]].


[[Frederick Greer, 1st Baron Fairfield|Lord Justice Greer]] used the phrase in ''Hall v. [[Brooklands]] Auto-Racing Club'' (1933)<ref name="EWDMJ">''Hall v Brooklands Auto-Racing Club'' [1933] 1 {{abbr|K.B.|King's Bench}} 205.</ref> to define the [[Standard of care in English law|standard of care]] a defendant must live up to in order to avoid being found negligent.
[[Frederick Greer, 1st Baron Fairfield|Lord Justice Greer]] used the phrase in ''Hall v. [[Brooklands]] Auto-Racing Club'' (1933)<ref name="EWDMJ">''Hall v Brooklands Auto-Racing Club'' [1933] 1 {{abbr|K.B.|King's Bench}} 205.</ref> to define the [[Standard of care in English law|standard of care]] a defendant must live up to in order to avoid being found negligent.

Latest revision as of 03:34, 25 June 2025

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates

File:Clapham Omnibus - geograph.org.uk - 3049778.jpg
A historical Brixton to Clapham horse-drawn bus on display at London Bus Museum.
File:E136 a (15337559191).jpg
A modern route 88 bus heading to Clapham Common

The man on the Clapham omnibus is a hypothetical ordinary and reasonable person, used by the courts in English law where it is necessary to decide whether a party has acted as a reasonable person would – for example, in a civil action for negligence. The character is a fairly educated, intelligent but undistinguished person, against whom the defendant's conduct can be measured.

The term was introduced into English law during the Victorian era, and is still an important concept in British law. It is also used in other Commonwealth common law jurisdictions, sometimes with suitable modifications to the phrase as an aid to local comprehension. The route of the original "Clapham omnibus" is unknown, but London Buses route 88, which terminates at Omnibus Theatre, was briefly branded as "the Clapham Omnibus" in the 1990s and is sometimes associated with the term.[1][2][3]

History

The phrase was reportedly first put to legal use in a judgment by Sir Richard Henn Collins MR in the English Court of Appeal libel case McQuire v. Western Morning News (1903).[4] He attributed the phrase to Lord Bowen[5] and used it in a negative sense: Template:Quote

It may be derived from the phrase "Public opinion ... is the opinion of the bald-headed man at the back of the omnibus",[6] a description by the 19th-century journalist Walter Bagehot of a normal London man. Clapham, in South London, was at the time an undistinguished commuter suburb seen to represent "ordinary" London, and in the 19th century would have been served by horse-drawn omnibuses.

Lord Justice Greer used the phrase in Hall v. Brooklands Auto-Racing Club (1933)[7] to define the standard of care a defendant must live up to in order to avoid being found negligent.

The use of the phrase was reviewed by the UK Supreme Court in Healthcare at Home Limited v. The Common Services Agency (2014),[8] where Lord Reed said: Template:Quote

Other related common law jurisdictions

The expression has also been incorporated in Canadian patent jurisprudence, notably Beloit v. Valmet Oy[9] in its discussion of the test for obviousness.[10]

In Australia, the "Clapham omnibus" expression has inspired the New South Wales and Victorian equivalents, "the man on the Bondi tram" (a now disused tram route in Sydney),[11] "the man on the Bourke Street tram" (Melbourne),[12] and "the ordinary person on the Belconnen omnibus" (Canberra).[13]

In Hong Kong, the equivalent expression is "the man on the Shau Kei Wan tram".[14]

See also

References

Template:Reflist

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ McQuire v Western Morning News [1903] 2 K.B. 100 at 109 per Collins MR.
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Hall v Brooklands Auto-Racing Club [1933] 1 K.B. 205.
  8. ↑ Template:Cite BAILII
  9. ↑ Beloit v. Valmet Oy (1986), C.P.R. (3d) 289
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Re Sortirios Pandos and Commonwealth of Australia [1991] AATA 18.
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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