Monthly Archives: April, 2026
Erez Aloni, ‘Married by Default’
ABSTRACT This Article examines and critiques the global binary debate surrounding opt-in versus opt-out legal regimes for regulating unmarried cohabitants’ financial obligations upon separation. Using Canadian jurisdictions as a case study, it challenges the prevailing academic consensus that endorses opt-out systems as superior policy, based on assumptions that they are fairer, sufficiently preserve autonomy, enhance […]
John McCamus, ‘Is Illegality a Defence to Restitutionary Claims?’
ABSTRACT The traditional English jurisprudence granting restitution of benefits conferred under agreements rendered unenforceable because of illegality was unsatisfactory. As a general principle, it held that there was a presumption against restitutionary relief for benefits conferred under such agreements (the Holman principle). This principle was subject to a series of exceptions granting relief to parties […]
‘Postdoc Position: “Fashion’s PLACE – Private (International) Law and Circular Economy”’
The University of Edinburgh is recruiting a postdoctoral research fellow in private international law to work on an exciting new research project funded by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the German Research Foundation (DFG) entitled ‘Fashion’s PLACE – Private (International) Law and Circular Economy’. The project explores the private law and […]
‘Meagher v The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge: A Case Analysis’
INTRODUCTION The case of Meagher v The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge [2025] EWHC 30 (KB) has sparked debate regarding the extent of higher education providers’ duty of care towards students, when it comes to making reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. Not uncommonly in higher education cases, both discrimination […]
Kimon Saitakis, ‘Tokenized Succession: Inheritance of DLT-Based Digital Assets in the European Legal Order’
ABSTRACT The inheritance of distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based digital assets – such as cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and tokenized claims – poses a formidable challenge to traditional civil law succession frameworks. Unlike conventional property, these digital assets are characterized by decentralization, pseudonymity, immutability and self-custody, features that complicate both their legal classification and their practical […]
Leerssen, van Duin and van Hoboken, ‘Private Enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA)’
ABSTRACT The Digital Services Act (DSA) represents a significant shift in EU digital regulation, aiming to create a safe, predictable, and trustworthy online environment whilst protecting fundamental rights. While public oversight and co-regulation by the European Commission and national Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) have already attracted significant attention, this paper considers the underappreciated role of […]
Riccardo Serafin, ‘The Road(s) to a Sustainable Contract Law: Three Approaches and Some Remaining Doubts’
ABSTRACT The idea of incorporating environmental sustainability into modern contract law is gaining traction. However, the feasibility of the project as a whole and the concrete changes needed remain largely unsettled and only incompletely explored. The present article contributes to the debate by identifying and critically analysing three strategies (top-down, bottom-up and nudging) to integrate […]
George Werner, ‘Urbanizing Nuisance’
ABSTRACT If you are a prospective resident of neighborhoods like Brooklyn’s Bushwick or Chicago’s Bronzeville, being close to a hip music venue may sound like a never-ending party—that is, until you discover that the hip music venue is your downstairs neighbor, and the party really never ends. Similarly, newcomers to gentrifying neighborhoods are often drawn […]
Kelvin Hiu Fai Kwok, ‘The Relationship between Statutory Illegality and Common Law Illegality’
ABSTRACT This article discusses the relationship between statutory illegality and common law illegality in contract law. Statutory illegality refers to contracts that are prohibited by legislation, whether expressly or impliedly. Common law illegality, meanwhile, refers to contracts tainted by illegality because their formation, performance, or purpose involves illegal conduct. The former type of ‘illegal contracts’ […]
‘The Most Excellent Things are the King’s? The Case of Mines (1568)’
Who owns what lies within the ground beneath our feet? Who determines when and how it can be extracted, to what ends, and on what basis? Where I write, subsurface or mineral rights are currently in the news. The provincial government of Nova Scotia has recently lifted longstanding bans on uranium mining and fracking for […]