Unjustified enrichment: surveying the landscape
Preliminary questions ‘Unjustified enrichment’. The expression is mysterious. So are the other terms in use for the same subject, ‘unjust enrichment’ and ‘restitution’. What is an enrichment and when is it unjustified? To state that something amounts to unjustified enrichment is merely a conclusion, that because the enrichment is unjustified it should be returned, restored or made over to the person properly entitled to it. That conclusion is in need of supporting normative argument. But what sort of argument? Some time ago the Roman jurist Pomponius wrote the now-famous words nam hoc natura aequum est neminem cum alterius detrimento et iniuria fieri locupletiorem , ‘by the law of nature it is right that nobody should be unjustly enriched at another's expense’. Pomponius's maxim encapsulates the key elements of enrichment liability: enrichment, which is unjust, and which is at the expense of the claimant. But it exemplifies a problem that faces modern legal systems, too: formulating the principles of a law of unjustified enrichment in a way which is clear and yet not excessively broad. There is no doubt that Pomponius's formulation is, as a matter of classical Roman law, much too broad. There were many cases in which unjustified enrichment was simply allowed to rest where it arose. A clear instance is the claim of a possessor in good faith who improved land from which he was later ejected by the true owner.
Restitution: A New Perspective
PART I Venturing into the Restitution Thicket General Introduction/ Terminology and subject matter: restitution and unjust enrichment/ The role of unjust enrichment in restitution/ Scope and purpose of this book A Brief History of Restitution Historical development of restitution/ The gap-filling and ameliorative role of restitution The Meaning of Unjust Enrichment Giving content to unjust enrichment / The meaning of "unjust" The Failure of Unjust Enrichment The failure of benefit-based analysis/ The false unity of unjust enrichment PART II A New Perspective on Restitution Fault-Based Liability: Breach of Contract-Like or Tort-Like duties Contract-like liability: the assumption of legal obligations/ Tort-like conduct and liability: infringing standards of acceptable conduct Common Interests: The Consequences of Unprovided for Contingencies The principle of "just sharing"/ The origins of the principle: general average contribution in maritime law/ The wider operation of the principle: the doctrine of contribution/ New applications of the principle: property disputes upon the breakdown of domestic relationships/ The uncertain status of the principle in contract: frustration of contracts Justifiable Sacrifice: Allocating the Costs of Justifiable Conduct The altruistic intervener/ The self-serving intervener Innocent Recipients of Money and Services Scope of subject matter/ Mistaken transactions/ Three-party transactions Restitution: The Future Table of Cases/ Table of Statutes/ Select Bibliography/ Index
Contract Law and Practice:The English System and Continental Comparisons
Introduction - the English legal system: sources of law the English courts civil courts criminal courts other courts and tribunals. Part 1 Intention and certainty. Part 2 Offer and acceptance. PArt 3 Consideration and estoppel: valuable consideration estoppel privity of contract - exceptions. Part 4 Writing and capacity. Part 5 Conditions, warranties and innominate terms - express and implied terms. Part 6 Fitness of goods and services: contract negligence strict liability criminal law. Part 7 Exclusion clauses and other unfair contract terms. Part 8 Risk: ownershup. Part 9 Delivery and payment. Part 10 Mistake: common law equity Commonwealth and American rules. Part 11 Misrepresentation, duress and illegal contracts: misrepresentation duress and undue influence illegal contracts. Part 11 Frustration. Part 12 Remedies for breach of contract: damages repudiation specific performance injunctions time limits.