Exploring Private Law

This volume gathers scholarly essays from legal academics across several countries, all concerned with the doctrines, remedies and methods of private law. It was prompted by a recent debate over how judges and scholars should reason about the subject, and it sets out to show how both top-down and bottom-up approaches have shaped its development.

The chapters cover a broad range of current questions. They examine how courts use each style of reasoning, how trusts law can be taught, and how privacy is protected within private law. Other chapters address the growth of unjust enrichment, the private law effects of theft, and equity's power to relieve against forfeiture. The collection also considers the nature of fiduciary relationships and duties, the responsibilities of trustees, and compensation and disgorgement as remedies. Further topics include partial rescission, the place of unconscionability in proprietary estoppel, and the nature of registered title to land.