Ex turpi causa non oritur actio

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Ex turpi causa non oritur actio (Latin: "a base cause does not give rise to an action") is the common law doctrine that an action in law may not be founded on illegality. If the doctrine applies, the plaintiff is essentially an outlaw, and unable to pursue his rights in the law courts.

The doctrine's principle application is to be found in the law of contract, and indeed some commentators confine its effect to contract alone (see: Winfield & Jolowicz on Tort, 15th edition, p866).

In the law of tort, the principle would prevent a criminal bringing a claim against (for example) a fellow criminal. In National Coal Board v England [1954] AC 403, Lord Asquith said "If two burglars, A and B, agree to open a safe by means of explosives, and A so negligently handles the explosive charge as to injure B, B might find some difficulty in maintaining an action against A."

For example, in Revill v Newberry [1996] 1 All ER 291, an elderly allotment holder was sleeping in his shed with a shotgun, to deter burglars. On hearing the plaintiff trying to break in, he shot his gun through a hole in the shed, injuring the plaintiff. At first instance, the defendants successfully raised the defence of ex turpi to avoid the claim. However, the Court of Appeal allowed the plaintiff's appeal, holding that the defendant was negligent to have shot blindly at body height, without shouting a warning or shooting a warning shot into the air, and that the response was out of all proportion to the threat.

The precise scope of the doctrine is not certain. In some cases, it seems that the illegality prevents a duty of care arising in the first place. For example, in Aston v Turner [1981] QB 137, the defendant crashed a car in the course of getting away from the scene of a burglary, injuring the plaintiff. Ewbank J held that the court may not recognise a duty of care in such cases as a matter of public policy. Similarly, in Pitts v Hint [1990] 3 All ER 344, the Court of Appeal rationalised this approach, saying that it was impossible to decide the approriate standard of care in cases where the parties were involved in illegality. In other cases, the courts view ex turpi as a defence where otherwise a claim would lie, again on grounds of public policy. In Tinsley v Milligan [1992] Ch 310, Nicholls LJ (as he then was) in the Court of Appeal spoke of the court having to "weigh or balance the adverse consequences of granting relief against the adverse consequences of refusing relief". The plaintiff was ultimately successful in Tinsley v Milligan in the House of Lords, which allowed the claim on the grounds that the plaintiff did not need to rely on the illegality.

Ex turpi causa non oritur actio

See also