Solatium (plural solatia) is a form of compensation for emotional rather than physical or financial harm. The word entered English during the 1810s, as a loanword from Latin sōlātium or sōlācium.[1]
World examples
editEngland & Wales
editSection 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 provides that in an action for wrongful death the spouse, civil partner or parents (where the deceased is a minor) of the deceased may claim damages for bereavement, which are awarded in the amount of a fixed sum. This has been described as a soliatum.[2]
India
editIn India, victims of crimes that receive widespread media coverage are frequently recipients of one-time solatium payments from governments.[3]
Scots law
editIt is used in Scots law mainly to denote reparation for pain and suffering in personal injury cases (although it can also be awarded in other types of cases), but also has a more technical meaning as the form of reparation available in an actio iniuriarum.[4] In the former respect it is similar, but not identical, to the English law concept of general damages; Scots law damages are divided into pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses, rather than general and special damages. In the latter sense, there is no ready English equivalent, as English law did not receive the legacy of the Roman actio iniuriarum.
South Africa
editIt is used in South African law as a delictual remedy for pain and suffering. To sue for solatium, a claimant must institute an action for pain and suffering or an actio iniuriarum.
United States
editBeginning during the War in Vietnam,[5] and continuing in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US Department of Defense (DOD) provides monetary assistance in the form of solatia and condolence payments to Iraqi and Afghan nationals who are killed, injured, or incur property damage as a result of U.S. or coalition forces’ actions during combat.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Solatium. (n.d.)". Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
- ^ Lord Sumption. "Cox (Appellant) v Ergo Versicherung AG" (PDF). [2014] UKSC 22, [2014] 1 AC 1379.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ "Sathankulam victim Jayaraj's daughter gets govt job in Tamil Nadu". Deccan Chronicle. 2020-07-27.
- ^ Stevens v Yorkhill NHS Trust 2006 SLT 889, para.36
- ^ "Jim Lynch, Solacium Payments". virginia.edu. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07699.pdf [bare URL PDF]
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