Essays for Patrick Atiyah

Patrick Atiyah is one of the most important legal scholars of his generation in the common-law world. His publications cover a wide field: legal theory, legal history, the study of legal institutions, the law of tort (especially compensation for personal injuries) and, most famously perhaps, the law of contract. It is no exaggeration to say that by his work, Atiyah has opened up new ways of thinking about the law of obligations. This volume of essays, written by colleagues, friends, and admirers of Patrick Atiyah from the UK and abroad, reflects the breadth of his interests. As well as discussions of particular aspects of the law of contract and tort, it contains essays on the history and theory of contract and tort and on the role of judges and law teachers. There is also an assessment of the `law in context' movement of which Patrick Atiyah was a founder member and leading practitioner. Contributors: William Twining, Tony Honore, Jan Hellner, Robert S. Summers, John Bell, Paul D. Carrington, Robert Stevens, A. W. B. Simpson, Roy Goode, S. M. Waddams, Jane Stapleton, Donald Harris, John Dwyer, John Fleming, and Peter Cane.

Part 1 Legal theory: reflections on law in context, William Twining; are omissions less culpable?, Tony Honore; Scandinavian legal realism in the law of contract, Jan Hellner; statutes and contracts as founts of formal reasoning, Robert S. Summers; conceptions of public policy, John Bell. Part 2 Legal history: aftermath, Paul D. Carrington; the role of the judiciary - lessons from the end of empire, Robert Stevens; the origins of futures trading in the Liverpool cotton market. Part 3 Common law: abstract payment undertakings, Roy Goode; pre-contractual duties of disclosure, S.M. Waddams; three problems with the new product liability, Jane Stapleton; evaluating the goals of personal injury law - some empirical evidence, Donald Harris; negligence and economic loss, John Dwyer; libel and constitutional free speech, John Fleming; the basis of tortious liability, Peter Cane.