Ashby v White (1703)

Law of Torts · The Two Maxims

Facts.

Ashby, a qualified voter at Aylesbury, went to cast his vote. White, the returning officer, wrongfully refused to record it. The candidate Ashby supported was elected in any event, so Ashby suffered no financial or practical loss whatever.

Issue.

Can an action lie for the violation of a legal right where the plaintiff has suffered no actual damage?

Held.

Yes. Holt CJ held that the right to vote is a legal right, and that its obstruction is itself an injury. Damage need not be pecuniary; being hindered in the exercise of a right is the damage. The action succeeded.

Why it matters.

It is the foundation case for both injuria sine damno and ubi jus ibi remedium, and it supplies the reasoning for every modern case in which a court compensates a citizen whose right has been obstructed without measurable loss — including Bhim Singh in India.

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