Comparative Reflections in Private Law
Essays in Honour of Simon Whittaker
Published on 24. March 2026
Book
Hardback
400 pages
978-0-19-895913-7 (ISBN)
Description
Comparative Reflections in Private Law celebrates the scholarly legacy of Professor Simon Whittaker, whose work has left a profound mark on the field of comparative law. Reflecting the breadth and depth of his influence, the volume brings together leading scholars to explore central themes in private law from a comparative perspective.
The volume is split into three distinct parts. The first part of the volume focuses on contract law, examining topics ranging from defects in the formation of a contract, interpretation, illegality, the doctrine of change of circumstances, and remedies. These chapters reflect Whittaker's commitment to doctrinal precision, analytical depth, and the value of comparative law as a means of understanding other legal traditions and re-examining one's own with a fresh perspective. The second part turns to tort law, with contributions exploring topics such as the role of violation of a right, the concept of foreseeability, the justifications for the non-recoverability of pure economic loss, and the treatment of illegality in product liability. These essays engage critically with fundamental concepts while also offering comparative insights into the functions and structure of tort law, an approach that reflects Whittaker's distinctive ability to draw deep connections between legal systems, both in their doctrinal rules and in the principles and goals that underpin them. The final part of the volume turns to private law intersections, addressing challenges that cut across traditional boundaries, such as the doctrine of the subsidiarity of unjustified enrichment and the difficulty of devising harmonized contract law in the European Union from the plurality of laws and languages of the Member States.
Taken together, the contributions included in this volume highlight the distinctive blend of intellectual rigour, curiosity, and openness to both tradition and innovation, which has so distinctively characterized Simon Whittaker's scholarship.
The volume is split into three distinct parts. The first part of the volume focuses on contract law, examining topics ranging from defects in the formation of a contract, interpretation, illegality, the doctrine of change of circumstances, and remedies. These chapters reflect Whittaker's commitment to doctrinal precision, analytical depth, and the value of comparative law as a means of understanding other legal traditions and re-examining one's own with a fresh perspective. The second part turns to tort law, with contributions exploring topics such as the role of violation of a right, the concept of foreseeability, the justifications for the non-recoverability of pure economic loss, and the treatment of illegality in product liability. These essays engage critically with fundamental concepts while also offering comparative insights into the functions and structure of tort law, an approach that reflects Whittaker's distinctive ability to draw deep connections between legal systems, both in their doctrinal rules and in the principles and goals that underpin them. The final part of the volume turns to private law intersections, addressing challenges that cut across traditional boundaries, such as the doctrine of the subsidiarity of unjustified enrichment and the difficulty of devising harmonized contract law in the European Union from the plurality of laws and languages of the Member States.
Taken together, the contributions included in this volume highlight the distinctive blend of intellectual rigour, curiosity, and openness to both tradition and innovation, which has so distinctively characterized Simon Whittaker's scholarship.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 165 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
767 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-895913-7 (9780198959137)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Marco Cappelletti is a Tutorial Fellow in Law at Worcester College, University of Oxford. His research interests lie in private law, particularly tort law and tort theory, and in comparative law. He is author of Justifying Strict Liability: A Comparative Analysis in Legal Reasoning (OUP), which received the Canada Prize of the International Academy of Comparative Law in 2022. His current research explores foundational aspects of private law, including the justifications for vicarious liability, the concept of foreseeability, the doctrine of remoteness of damage, and the different standards of liability in the context of accidental harm.
Ciara Kennefick is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Oxford and Official Student (Tutorial Fellow) in Law at Christ Church, Oxford. She also holds a Visiting Professorship at Universite Paris-Pantheon-Assas, and a Visiting Fellowship at the Stockholm Centre for Commercial Law at the University of Stockholm. Her research examines private law from comparative and historical perspectives. She is particularly interested in the just price in contracts, an idea which is derived from Roman law. In 2020, she was awarded the Selden Society's David Yale Prize 2019 for her research on the legal history of England and Wales.
Dorota Leczykiewicz is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Oxford and Official Fellow in Law at St Peter's College. Her research focuses on judicial reasoning, comparative tort law and EU constitutional and private law. Dr Leczykiewicz's most recent work has concerned comparison between English and French tort law, EU tort law, theorising judge-made law, evaluating the reasoning of the Court of Justice of the EU, the use of general principles in EU law, and horizontality of EU fundamental rights. In 2021-2024 she was Associate Dean for Graduate Studies (Taught Courses) in the Oxford Faculty of Law.
Ciara Kennefick is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Oxford and Official Student (Tutorial Fellow) in Law at Christ Church, Oxford. She also holds a Visiting Professorship at Universite Paris-Pantheon-Assas, and a Visiting Fellowship at the Stockholm Centre for Commercial Law at the University of Stockholm. Her research examines private law from comparative and historical perspectives. She is particularly interested in the just price in contracts, an idea which is derived from Roman law. In 2020, she was awarded the Selden Society's David Yale Prize 2019 for her research on the legal history of England and Wales.
Dorota Leczykiewicz is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Oxford and Official Fellow in Law at St Peter's College. Her research focuses on judicial reasoning, comparative tort law and EU constitutional and private law. Dr Leczykiewicz's most recent work has concerned comparison between English and French tort law, EU tort law, theorising judge-made law, evaluating the reasoning of the Court of Justice of the EU, the use of general principles in EU law, and horizontality of EU fundamental rights. In 2021-2024 she was Associate Dean for Graduate Studies (Taught Courses) in the Oxford Faculty of Law.
Content
1: John Bell: Pragmatism in French Law: The Case of Mistake 2: Michele Graziadei: A Dangerous Method: Genealogy in the Interpretation of Contracts 3: John Cartwright: Remedies for Defects in the Formation of a Contract: Learning by Comparing 4: Solene Rowan: Performance, Reasonableness, and Proportionality: English and French Remedies Law 5: Yves-Marie Laithier: The Impact of Illegality in French Contract Law: A Reflexive Endeavour 6: Hugh Beale: Doctrines of Change of Circumstances, Covid-19, and Special Measures 7: Dorota Leczykiewicz: Violation of a Right and Tort Law 8: Marco Cappelletti: Foreseeability in the Law of Torts: A Comparative Analysis 9: Jean-Sebastien Borghetti: Justifying the Denial of Compensation for Pure Economic Loss 10: Matthew Dyson: A 'Pilfered Ginger': Tort Claims for Harm Caused by Products Involving Illegality 11: Pietro Sirena: The Subsidiarity of Unjustified Enrichment 12: Barbara Pozzo: Harmonizing Contract Law without a Common Terminology: Comparative Law Perspectives