Vastutusnorme

Vastutusnorme (plural vastutusnormid) is a term used in Estonian legal and philosophical discourse to refer to normative standards that determine whether an agent bears responsibility for the outcomes of their actions. They function as criteria for blame in moral philosophy and for liability in law, outlining when an actor ought to be held morally or legally accountable.

In moral philosophy, vastutusnormid encode considerations such as intentionality, knowledge, foreseeability, and control. An action is typically judged blameworthy if the agent acted with intent or reckless disregard and could have chosen differently given reasonable options. In legal contexts, vastutusnormid translate into duty, breach, causation, and fault requirements. Many legal systems distinguish between fault-based liability, where responsibility depends on negligent or purposeful conduct, and strict liability, where liability attaches regardless of fault.

Key features include the relevance of foreseeability, the presence of a duty of care, and whether the actor had sufficient control over the outcome. Debate centers on how to calibrate these norms across cultures and cases, how to address moral luck, and how to balance the harshness of penalties with fairness.

Examples include traffic safety regimes imposing negligence standards on drivers, employer liability for unsafe workplaces, and product liability regimes requiring reasonable testing. Vastutusnorme thus mediate ethical judgments and legal rules about who must answer for harms arising from human action.