The Editor, Sir:

I note with interest and concern a reported call by Supreme Court Judge Ingrid Mangatal for the passing of legislation to make the Government liable for injuries to persons and damage to motor vehicles caused by the State's failure to properly maintain our roads.

Judge Mangatal's call stemmed from a recent case before her wherein the claimant alleged that she fell into a pothole on an improperly maintained road and suffered injuries as a result.

The judge found that there was no available relief for the claimant, as she could find no existing legal authority to hold the State liable.

Common law principle

Interestingly, Minister of Justice and Attorney General Senator Dorothy Lightbourne was reported in March last year of moving to abolish the common law principle of nonfeasance, which bars the Government from liability if the authorities fail to maintain or fix a roadway.

The attorney general, reacting then to a report in which a gentleman allegedly suffered serious spinal cord injuries from the collapse of a roadway on which he was travelling, indicated she had instructed the Legal Reform Department to do the research and advise on the necessary changes to impose a duty on the authorities in such instances.

While I do support the call by Judge Mangatal and the expressed intent of the attorney general to make a change to this long-standing common law principle to provide the appropriate relief to claimants, I have reservations about making such a change to the law at this time.

Most of our country's roads are in a deplorable condition as it is, with the State probably never taking great care and interest in repairing and maintaining them because of the longstanding protection in law. Imposing such a duty before allowing for the repair of our roads would therefore seriously deplete our already meagre resources.

Burden for taxpayers

The State, that is the taxpayers, would be burdened constantly with paying out significant sums to satisfy the many judgments that would be handed down, having regard to our road conditions.

The expressed intent to utilise funds from the recently imposed gas tax to maintain and develop our road network must be first made to work, with the Government moving with alacrity on a nationwide road-repair project, then the expressed legal duty can be imposed on the State.

I am, etc.,

KEVIN KO SANGSTER

sangstek@msn.com