actus dei nemini facit injuriam

Nobody is liable for loss caused purely by an act of God, meaning a natural event so extraordinary that human foresight and care could not have prevented it. The maxim is the basis of the act-of-God defence in tort and of some rules on the discharge of contracts.

It does not protect a person whose negligence combined with the natural event, and it does not apply where Indian law imposes absolute liability on hazardous industries. It is often paired with lex non cogit ad impossibilia (the law does not compel the impossible) when a statutory time limit cannot be met because of a natural calamity.

Example

The carrier relied on actus dei nemini facit injuriam when a sudden cyclone sank the barge, and since it had not been careless, it escaped liability for the cargo.

See also

act of God · vis major · lex non cogit ad impossibilia · inevitable accident