The Impact of Contributory Negligence on Civil Liability in Islamic Jurisprudence: A Comparative Study

Contributory negligence principle was considered a full defence in Roman Law and by virtue of this principle wrongdoers could be excluded from liability and compensation. Afterwards, this inflexible principle was applied in Civil Law and Common Law (English and American Law), but in the United States of America, courts modified it over years and some states replaced it by comparative negligence principle. Contributory negligence in its traditional sense in Roman and Common Law is similar to "Eqdam Rule" in Islamic Jurisprudence. Hence, the question is whether "Eqdam" is a full defence the same as contributory negligence or not or whether it leads to distribution of liability.