Accessory Liability: (Hart Studies in Private Law)

Accessory liability in the private law is of great importance. Claimants often bring claims against third parties who participate in wrongs. For example, the 'direct wrongdoer' may be insolvent, so a claimant might prefer a remedy against an accessory in order to obtain satisfactory redress. However, the law in this area has not received the attention it deserves. The criminal law recognises that any person who 'aids, abets, counsels or procures' any offence can be punished as an accessory, but the private law is more fragmented. One reason for this is a tendency to compartmentalise the law of obligations into discrete subjects, such as contract, trusts, tort and intellectual property. This book suggests that by looking across such boundaries in the private law, the nature and principles of accessory liability can be better understood and doctrinal confusion regarding the elements of liability, defences and remedies resolved. Winner of the Joint Second SLS Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship 2015.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction I. What is Accessory Liability? II. Why is Accessory Liability Important? III. Doctrinal Difficulties in the Law of Obligations IV. Looking Across the Legal Landscape V. Approach of the Book 2. Fundamentals I. Principles Underpinning Accessory Liability II. Conduct Element III. Mental Element IV. Nature of Accessory Liability V. Distinguishing Accessory Liability 3. Crime I. Scope of Accessory Liability II. Primary Offence III. Conduct Element IV. Mental Element V. Defences VI. Nature of Liability VII. Rationales of Liability VIII. Conclusions 4. Equity I. Seeds of Confusion: The Effect of Barnes v Addy II. A New Start: Royal Brunei Airlines Sdn Bhd v Tan III. Primary Wrong: Breach of Contract IV. Conduct Element V. Mental Element VI. Explaining Accessory Liability VII. What Shape should Accessory Liability Take? 5. Contract I. The Leading Case: Lumley v Gye II. Accessory Liability Recognised: OBG Ltd v Allan III. Primary Wrong IV. Conduct Element V. Mental Element VI. Explaining Accessory Liability VII. Against Accessory Liability: Defending Breach of Contract VIII. What Shape should Accessory Liability Take? 6. Tort I. Mapping Accessory Liability in Tort Law II. Primary Wrong III. Conduct Element IV. Mental Element V. Explaining Liability VI. What Shape should Accessory Liability Take? 7. Defences I. Defences Available to the Primary Wrongdoer II. Justification III. Withdrawal IV. Limitation V. Conclusion 8. Remedies I. 'Secondary' Liability Exposed II. Compensation III. Gain-based Awards IV. Hypothetical Bargain Measure of Damages V. Contribution VI. Punitive Damages VII. Injunction VIII. Combining Remedies 9. Conclusions I. 'Knowing Assistance' II. A Standard Approach Across All Obligations III. The Nature of Accessory Liability IV. A Narrow But Coherent Law of Accessory Liability

About the Author :
Paul S Davies is an Associate Professor in Law at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St Catherine's College, Oxford.

Review :
Davies is to be congratulated for achieving a task of immense proportions...It is a tremendous feat...Davies is to be heartily commended for bringing to the fore the previously unexplored connections across disparate areas of law, if only to expose them to further long overdue analysis by the legal community. ...Accessory Liability is a well-written, comprehensive, compelling and thought-provoking. In few than 300 pages, it weaves together a staggering range of subjects...This book deserves to become a significant point of reference for private law scholars and practitioners alike. Overall, Accessory Liability is a book to be applauded and highly recommended. Within its pages lies an appraisal and appreciation for this specific area of law that has been sorely lacking for far too long. As Lord Justice Sales notes in his foreword, this book is long overdue; but the wait has certainly been worthwhile. The learning on display here is rich and deep, and Davies' clear structure and lucid style is an exemplar for future private law scholarship. By seeking to unite discrete and substantial areas of private law, the book's mission is unmistakably ambitious. Yet the author is to be congratulated for meeting the challenge admirably by navigating nimbly across and between subject boundaries, and by squarely confronting a substantial corpus of conflicting and unfavourable authorities. From the foreword by Philip Sales: Judges, practitioners and academic lawyers who read this book will be indebted to Mr Davies for bringing clarity and coherence to what should now be recognised as a major category of civil liability in its own right. This book deserves to become a significant point of reference for private law scholars and practitioners alike. This magnificent work of awesome scholarship and insight should be essential reading for judges, practitioners and advanced level students working in the field of private law. All in all, this is a mould-breaking book, based on deep learning and perceptive analysis, yet written in a clear and accessible style. Davies' book is a thoroughly researched and insightful publication. This book presents a challenging, and powerful, argument that the various forms of accessory liability can be drawn together, and Davies' framework provides a clear way towards achieving that goal. In Accessory Liability, Davies navigates the reader with clarity and skill through the murky waters of each of these questions and many others besides. It seems to me, therefore, that this book was, in 2015, quite deservedly the joint second prizewinner of the prestigious Society of Legal Scholars Peter Birks Book Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship. It is a book of immense learning and careful reflection written by someone who clearly grasps the fact that elegance in legal prose is no mere luxury. It is a book about accessories, but it is also an exemplar of accessibility.