Category Archives: Public law
Call for Papers: ‘Economic Aspects of the Constitution’: University of Glasgow, 16-17 April 2026
The workshop seeks to explore those aspects of the constitutional order of the United Kingdom (as well as its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies) which have an economic element. Any proposal for a paper which fits the workshop theme is welcome, but possible topics include the following: … (more)
Oren Bracha, ‘Pointless IP’
ABSTRACT This Essay examines the recent rise of originalist and textualist methods of analysis in the Supreme Court’s intellectual-property jurisprudence. The features and failures of these methods are examined by analyzing their application by the Court within three areas of intellectual-property law. In all three areas, originalism and textualism have led to perplexing and unsatisfactory […]
Schwartz, Reinert and Pfander, ‘Empiricism and Constitutional Torts’
ABSTRACT The Supreme Court has deliberately framed the law of constitutional torts as a balance between assuring redress for victims, deterring misconduct, and maintaining effective government services. Yet as the Supreme Court has shaped the contours of litigation against state and local actors (under 42 USC § 1983) and federal actors (under the Bivens doctrine), […]
Asta Zokaityte, ‘UK Car Finance Mis-selling: Reassessing Legal and Regulatory Challenges within Consumer Credit Markets’
ABSTRACT This article examines the regulatory dimensions of the UK’s car finance mis-selling scandal, focusing on the structural features of PCP agreements. While current legal interventions emphasise transparency and informed choice regarding commissions, I argue that such measures are poorly equipped to address the embedded inequalities characteristic of intermediated consumer credit markets. PCPs, though marketed […]
Andhov, Kania, Saljic and Schrøder-Hansen, ‘Culpa in Contrahendo: A Solar Eclipse between Contract and Public Procurement Law?’
ABSTRACT The realm of contemporary EU public procurement is expanding in complexity. This complexity arises not only from the incorporation of sustainability concerns and the procurement of diverse technological solutions but also from an increasing reliance on negotiated procedures. The growing interest in these methods within the EU highlights the need to explore their legal […]
Anna Beckers, ‘Party Autonomy and Public Regulation in European Commercial Contract Law’
INTRODUCTION The relationship between party autonomy and market regulation has been analysed extensively for consumer law and regulated industries. It seems to be a common understanding that European contract law in this area is predominantly characterised by a regulatory approach and consequently contains a regulated construction of party autonomy. In his contribution, Stefan Grundmann traces […]
Steven Willis, ‘Taxing Torts Today and Tomorrow’
ABSTRACT This article shows how tax law has long subsidized tortfeasors, often to the detriment of victims. Changes in the 1980s reduced the tortfeasor subsidy but did not eliminate it. The article shows how various changes which purported to help victims have, in practical terms, helped tortfeasors. The article first covers the pre-1985 tax history […]
Emile Zitske, ‘The foundations of transformative private law in South Africa’
ABSTRACT This article problematises a shallow understanding of ‘transformative private law’ as being a simple merger of constitutional rights and private law. Instead, feeding into international discourse on transformative private law, it is argued that a South African iteration of the concept ought to be rooted in ‘transformative constitutionalism’. Exploring the jurisprudential foundations of transformative […]
‘Should Private Law Govern Public Issues? The Case of Improperly Collected Taxes’
Restitutionary claims, in the context of Australian law, are actions aimed at reversing unjust enrichment. So, how does this apply to the restitution of improperly collected taxes and other levies? A recent High Court decision illustrates the significance of restitutionary claims. However, the decision appears to be misguided as improperly collected taxes should be returned […]
Joseph Singer, ‘Living Property’
ABSTRACT The Supreme Court has increasingly defined property rights that are per se exempt from regulation in the absence of compensation, most recently in Cedar Point Nursery v Hassid (2021) and Tyler v Hennepin County (2023). The Court claims that it can identify property rights that are categorically protected from regulation by reference to history, […]