Caveat Emptor

Caveat emptor places the onus on a buyer to satisfy themselves about what they are purchasing, rather than assuming the seller will volunteer every relevant fact. It remains a live consideration even in modern criminal law: CPS legal guidance on the Fraud Act 2006 directs prosecutors to bear in mind that the principle of caveat emptor applies when deciding where the borderline between civil liability and criminal fraud sits, and to consider whether civil proceedings or the advertising regulatory regime would be the more appropriate route rather than a prosecution.

The principle is not absolute. It has always been subject to statutory inroads — misrepresentation, sale of goods legislation implying terms as to quality and fitness for purpose, and consumer protection law — and the CPS guidance itself qualifies caveat emptor by noting that not every advertising puff should lead to a criminal conviction, but that fraudsters who deliberately prey on vulnerable buyers can still fall outside the protection the maxim offers a seller.

The doctrine is most associated with historic land and goods transactions, where a purchaser was expected to make their own enquiries — a legacy that still shapes the conveyancing process, in which the buyer's own solicitor, not the seller, carries the burden of raising searches and enquiries before completion.