King's / Queen's Bench Division of the High Court

[2025] EWHC 2684 (KB)

Fecha: 17-Oct-2025

Misfeasance in public office

Misfeasance in public office

731.

This common law tort imposes liability for

“an abuse of power accompanied by subjective bad faith.”

(per Lord Steyn in Three Rivers DC v Bank of England (No.3) [2001] UKHL 16; [2003] 2 AC 1 at p.191). In Hussain-v-Chief Constable of West Mercia [2008] EWCA Civ 1205 Lord Justice Maurice Kay described it as:

“an intentional tort of considerable gravity.”

732.

In order to succeed, a Claimant must prove each of the following ingredients of the tort,

The tortfeasor must be a public officer.

ii.

The tortfeasor committed an act (or, in narrow circumstances, deliberately decided not to act).

iii.

The act amounted to the exercise of power as a public officer.

iv.

The tortfeasor was acting dishonestly/in bad faith (whether in the form of targeted or untargeted malice).

Causation.

vi.

Actionable damage that is not too remote.

733.

In Rees at first instance Mitting J held that misconduct in the performance of police functions, even if not in the course of exercising a specific statutory or common law power, would be sufficient to found the tort.