Tort Law Centre

The objective of the Institute's Tort Law Centre, which was founded in 2002, is to promote research, policy discussion and development in the field of tort law, and to strengthen the link between the law and policy-making in this field. Legal research in this area has been traditionally limited by national jurisdictions. This is unsatisfactory for several reasons. First, because of the international and cross border nature of the services and products. Second, because of the considerable reform activity in the different countries which has highlighted the need for comparison. Finally, because of the impact of regulation by the European Union, in areas such as product liability, requiring a shift of focus from national to international perspective.

The aim of the Tort Law Centre is to facilitate the finding of equitable solutions for the national law through its research programme and the organisation of academic events.

Research

The following research projects are coordinated by the Tort Law Centre:

  • Tort Liability of Public Authorities
  • Product Liability
  • Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury Law
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution in Medical and Public Law
  • Medical Law Principles in the Educational and Social Welfare Sphere
  • Human Rights and Tort Law
  • Regulatory Liability in Comparative Law
  • General Principles of European Tort Law

Team

A number of staff work under the umbrella of the Tort Law Centre. Dr Duncan Fairgrieve is Director of the Centre. Professor Jane Stapleton is also a Commonwealth Fellow at the Institute.

At the Centre, we have an international network of expert correspondents who have particular expertise in the sphere of tort law. These National Rapporteurs are from Continental Europe and beyond participate in our events and research programme at the Institute.

We are delighted to announce that Professor Jane Stapleton has been appointed as a Commonwealth Fellow at the British Institute. Jane Stapleton is one of the world's leading scholars on Products Liability, and her academic work spans three continents. She is a Professor of Law at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, in the Research School of Social Sciences, and Ernest E Smith Professor, University of Texas School of Law. Professor Stapleton is also a statutory visiting professor of law at Oxford University, where she taught for a dozen years before moving to Australia.

Working Papers

The Centre publishes a number of working papers.

Duncan Fairgrieve, Product Liability in France, presented at the BIICL Conference, Product Liability in Comparative Perspective, January 2003.

Andenas and Fairgrieve, Misfeasance in Public Office, Governmental Liability and European Influences' (2002) 51 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 757-779.

Chester v Afhar, paper presented by Robert Stevens, November 2004.

Seminar Papers

At our seminar on non-pecuniary loss, as part of the Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury Seminar Series, the following presented papers:

  • Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel QC
  • Tim Kerr QC
  • Duncan Fairgrieve
  • Robert Stevens