![Clapham Omnibus - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Clapham_Omnibus_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3049778.jpg)
The man on the Clapham omnibus is a hypothetical ordinary and
reasonable person
In law, a reasonable person, reasonable man, or the man on the Clapham omnibus, is a hypothetical person of legal fiction crafted by the courts and communicated through case law and jury instructions.
Strictly according to the fiction, it is ...
, used by the courts in
English law
English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures.
Principal elements of English law
Although the common law has, historically, be ...
where it is necessary to decide whether a party has acted as a reasonable person would – for example, in a
civil action
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
for negligence. The character is a reasonably educated, intelligent but nondescript person, against whom the defendant's conduct can be measured.
The term was introduced into English law during the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
, and is still an important concept in British law. It is also used in other
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
common law jurisdictions, sometimes with suitable modifications to the phrase as an aid to local comprehension. The route of the original "
Clapham
Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.
History
Early history
T ...
omnibus" is unknown but
London Buses route 88
London Buses route 88 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Parliament Hill Fields and Clapham Common, it is operated by London General. The route used to be known as "the Clapham Omnibus" when it wa ...
was briefly branded as "the Clapham Omnibus" in the 1990s and is sometimes associated with the term.
History
The phrase was reportedly first put to legal use in a judgment by Sir
Richard Henn Collins
Richard Henn Collins, Baron Collins (31 January 1842 – 3 January 1911) was an Anglo-Irish lawyer and judge.
Life
Born in Dublin, Collins was educated at the Royal School Dungannon and Trinity College Dublin (where he was elected a Sc ...
MR in the 1903 English Court of Appeal libel case, ''McQuire v.
Western Morning News
The ''Western Morning News'' is a daily regional newspaper founded in 1860, and covering the West Country including Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Somerset and Dorset in the South West of England.
Organisation
The ''Western Mo ...
''.
[''McQuire v Western Morning News'' ]903
__NOTOC__
Year 903 ( CMIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* King Berengar I of Italy proceeds to issue concessions and privileges to the Lo ...
2 100 at 109 per Collins MR.
He attributed it to
Lord Bowen.
It may be derived from the phrase "Public opinion ... is the opinion of the bald-headed man at the back of the omnibus",
a description by the 19th-century journalist
Walter Bagehot
Walter Bagehot ( ; 3 February 1826 – 24 March 1877) was an English journalist, businessman, and essayist, who wrote extensively about government, economics, literature and race. He is known for co-founding the ''National Review'' in 1855 ...
of a normal London man.
Clapham
Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.
History
Early history
T ...
, in
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...
, was at the time a nondescript
commuter suburb seen to represent "ordinary" London, and in the 19th century would have been served by
horse-drawn omnibuses. ''Omnibus'' is the term from which "bus" derives, and was still in common use by the judiciary at the beginning of the 20th century.
The concept was used by
Lord Justice Greer, in the case of ''Hall v.
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
Auto-Racing Club'',
[''Hall v Brooklands Auto-Racing Club'' 9331 205.] to define the
standard of care
In tort law, the standard of care is the only degree of prudence and caution required of an individual who is under a duty of care.
The requirements of the standard are closely dependent on circumstances. Whether the standard of care has been b ...
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'',
where
Lord Reed
Robert John Reed, Baron Reed of Allermuir, (born 7 September 1956) is a British judge who has been President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom since January 2020. He was the principal judge in the Commercial Court in Scotland before b ...
said:
Other related common law jurisdictions
The expression has also been incorporated in Canadian patent jurisprudence, notably ''Beloit v. Valmet Oy''
[''Beloit v. Valmet Oy'' (1986), C.P.R. (3d) 289] in its discussion of the test for obviousness.
In Australia, the "Clapham omnibus" expression has inspired the New South Wales and Victorian equivalents, "the
man on the Bondi tram
The man on the Bondi tram is a fictional legal character used in civil law in New South Wales, Australia, representing an ordinary person. Jurors, for example, have been directed to consider what the man on the Bondi tram would think of whe ...
" (a now disused tram route in Sydney),
and "the man on the
Bourke Street tram" (
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
).
[.] In Western Australia, the equivalent is "the man on the
Prospector to Kalgoorlie".
In Hong Kong, the equivalent expression is "the man on the
Shaukiwan Tram".
See also
*
A moron in a hurry
A moron in a hurry is a phrase that has been used in legal cases, especially in the UK, involving trademark infringement and passing off. Where one party alleges that another (the defendant) has infringed their intellectual property rights by off ...
*
Bellwether
A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.[bellwether]
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Ret ...
*
Person having ordinary skill in the art
A person having ordinary skill in the art (abbreviated PHOSITA), a person of (ordinary) skill in the art (POSITA or PSITA), a person skilled in the art, a skilled addressee or simply a skilled person is a legal fiction found in many patent laws t ...
*
Placeholder name
Placeholder names are words that can refer to things or people whose names do not exist, are tip of the tongue, temporarily forgotten, are not relevant to the salient point at hand, are to avoid stigmatization, are unknowable/unpredictable in ...
*
Prudent man rule The prudent man rule is based on common law stemming from the 1830 Massachusetts court formulation, '' Harvard College v. Amory'' The prudent man rule, written by Massachusetts Justice Samuel Putnam (1768-1853), directs trustees "to observe how men ...
*
Objective historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
References
{{reflist, 1=30em
British English idioms
English phrases
Legal fictions
Socioeconomic stereotypes