Trespass in English law

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Trespass in English law is a civil wrong (a tort) split into three main kinds: trespass to the person, trespass to goods, and trespass to land. Each type involves an unjustified interference with someone else’s rights, and the guiding idea is that a person’s body and property are protected from unwanted intrusion.

Trespass to the person
This area covers assault, battery and false imprisonment. Assault means acting in a way that makes the claimant fear immediate unlawful force. Battery is the intentional direct application of physical force to another person. False imprisonment is unlawfully restraining someone’s freedom of movement. In all three, the act must be a direct and intentional act; indirect or accidental acts are usually treated as negligence. Defences include consent, self-defence, necessity, or acting under statutory authority.

Trespass to goods
Trespass to goods is interference with goods that are in someone else’s possession. This can involve touching, moving, taking or destroying the goods. The mental element is less clearly defined than in trespass to the person, but damages can be awarded for harm that was reasonably foreseeable. Defences include consent, statutory authority, necessity, and jus tertii (where the goods belong to a third party).

Trespass to land
Trespass to land is an unjustified interference with land in the immediate possession of another. It is a tort and can be a crime in certain situations. It is actionable per se, meaning harm need not be shown. Most trespasses to land are intentional, but negligence can also lead to liability. Land includes the surface, subsoil, airspace and anything permanently attached to the land; airspace rights are not unlimited. Interference can include entering the land, remaining after permission ends, or throwing something onto the land. Defences include a licence to be on the land, justification by law, necessity, and jus tertii (where someone else has the right to possess the land). In some cases trespass to land can overlap with criminal offences, such as under specific statutes.

Summary
The core idea across all three types is that a person’s body, possessions and land are protected from direct, wrongful interference. If the interference is not direct or not intentional, the case may fall under negligence or another area of law. Common defences include consent, self-defence, necessity, and statutory authority. Remedies typically involve damages, and in some situations, injunctions or other orders.