Rearing an unexpected child: a compensatory matter?

When speaking of damages in Tort law Salmond & Heuston state “[i]t is often discussed whether the governing principle is that of restitutio in integrum, or whether the defendant is only obliged to give the plaintiff fair compensation”. It would seem that in most situations where damages are assessed the courts consider fair compensation to be a monetary sum, based on actuarial evidence, which would amount to restitutio in integrum. Thus, in practice, the distinction between the principles is often blurred. However, some specific situations call for a deeper examination of the concept of fair compensation. A recent example is Byrne v Ryan where the Irish High Court was faced with determining what would constitute fair compensation for the negligent performance of a sterilisation operation. The case raised some interesting issues such as the role of public policy in determining the extent of recoverability and how such public policy is formed. The questions of how harm is defined and what exactly could be termed a recoverable loss were also raised.