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Philosophy of Private Law

Philosophy of Private Law

Author: William Lucy
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780198700685
Published In: December 2006
Format: Paperback , 456 pages
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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The first comprehensive and introductory account of the principal themes in contemporary jurisprudential debates, ideal for those studying the subject at undergraduate or postgraduate level
Key themes and complex legal philosophical debates are clearly outlined, encouraging readers to critically evaluate the subject
Provides students with an informed view of both the limits and possibilities of the philosophy of private law

On what basis does tort law hold us responsible to those who suffer as a result of our carelessness? Why, when we breach our contracts, should we make good the losses of those with whom we contracted? In what sense are our torts and our breaches of contract 'wrongs'? These two branches of private law have for centuries provided philosophers and jurists with grounds for puzzlement. This book provides an outline of, and intervention in, contemporary jurisprudential debates about the nature and foundation of liability in private law.

After outlining the realm of the philosophy of private law, the book divides into two. Part I examines the various components of liability responsibility in private law, including the notions of basic responsibility, conduct, causation and wrongfulness. Part II considers arguments purporting to show that private law does and should embody a conception of either distributive or corrective justice or some combination of the two. Throughout the book a number of distinctions - between conceptual and normative argument, between jurisprudential 'theory' and private law 'practice', between legal obligation and moral obligation - are analyzed, the aim being to give students an informed grasp of both the limits and possibilities of the philosophy of private law.

1: Introduction
Part I: Who did what?
2: Legal liability-Responsibility
3: Responsibility I: Basic responsibility
4: Responsibility II: Alternate possibilities
5: Conduct and causation
6: Wrongfulness
Part II: Who pays and why?
7: Normative foundations
8: Corrective justice
9: Distributive justice
10: Mixed foundations
11: Conclusion

William Lucy, Professor of Law, Manchester University