Monthly Archives: March, 2025
Michael Pratt, ‘Waiving Conditions Precedent’
ABSTRACT Conditions precedent present a variety of challenges for the law of contract, but one has proved especially vexing for Canadian courts. This is the question of when such a condition can be waived or extinguished unilaterally. The problem arises when a contract makes a transaction conditional on some event, but one of the parties […]
Leung and Leung, ‘Backwards tracing as an exception and beyond’
ABSTRACT After the Privy Council decision Federal Republic of Brazil v Durant International Corp [2015] UKPC 35, the question of how the doctrine of backwards tracing should be understood deserves careful consideration. This article seeks to explain that such a doctrine should be understood and categorised as an exception to the traditional tracing principles. Further, […]
‘Gambling with Consent: Free, Specific, and Informed Consent in Data Protection Law’
BACKGROUND In RTM v Bonne Terre Ltd [2025] EWHC 111 (KB), the High Court considered claims brought in data protection and the tort of misuse of private information. The Claimant described himself as a ‘recovering online gambling addict’ [1]. He sought damages for harm, distress and financial loss, and a declaration that his rights under […]
De ruysscher, Dave, Grotius and Limited Liability
ABSTRACT Grotius’s ideas on proportionate and limited liability, as mentioned in the Inleidinge and De iure belli ac pacis, were novel in comparison to the civilian doctrine of his time. Grotius drew from sources of local law and statutes regarding maritime law but was nonetheless original in his interpretations. Grotius proposed to consider the liability […]
Giovanni LoMonaco, ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’: Adapting Copyright Law to Generative AI’
ABSTRACT Artificial intelligence has come a long way since the days of the ‘heartless’ tin man of the Wizard of Oz, and the cool, precise autonomy of Kit from Nightrider. We have moved rapidly from mere questions about what life could be like with autonomous machines, to having books, movies, and albums created using machines […]
Ryan and McMichael, ‘The Future of Frozen Embryos’
ABSTRACT The 2024 Alabama Supreme Court decision in LePage v Center for Reproductive Medicine, which declared frozen embryos to be ‘children’, represents a significant shift in the legal treatment of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the United States. This Article examines the context, implications, and potential consequences of LePage for family law, tort law, and […]
Baha Yiğit Sayın, ‘Negotiorum Gestio as a Source of Obligation: From Roman Law to Modern Codes’
ABSTRACT The legal institution of Negotiorum Gestio refers first and foremost to the act of helping or aiding someone in need, typically with the intention of doing good or promoting the well-being of the recipient. This concept has a long history, with roots in Roman law and its diversified influence on modern legal systems. In […]
Jennifer Rothman, ‘Copyrighting People’
ABSTRACT This Essay, delivered as the 2024 Donald C Brace Lecture for The Copyright Society, reveals the increasing convergence of right of publicity and copyright laws. This convergence requires us to reconsider some accepted conclusions about copyright and to question whether copyright is the appropriate or best frame going forward to address the rising challenges […]
Chang and Merrill, ‘The Nature of Leasing’
ABSTRACT Leases at the common law are said to be a property form becoming increasingly contractual, while leases in the civil law are said to be a type of contract becoming ‘reified’ and hence increasingly like property. Leases in the common and civil law worlds thus begin with very different starting points but, over time, […]
Emad Atiq, ‘The Disaggregated Hand Formula’
ABSTRACT Commercial activities, like selling a car or serving hot coffee, can generate a risk of loss to which multiple individuals are exposed. Likewise, the burdens of avoiding such risks are rarely borne by a single person. When burdens and losses distribute across multiple stakeholders, when should negligence law tolerate or condemn the risky choice? […]