Congratulations to Allan Beever on the publication next week of his monograph The Concepts of Unjust Enrichment (Hart). From the publisher’s site:

 

“Unlike other areas of the private law, the law of unjust enrichment stands or falls with the theory upon which it is based. This theory, fashioned primarily by Peter Birks and continued by many other scholars is known as the 'dominant model'. The model employs a number of crucial concepts such as enrichment, benefit, value, and injustice. Unfortunately, the model has no coherent understanding of these things. Instead, it equivocates over the meanings of these concepts and at times adopts strange and even absurd understandings of them. It has to do this, because the model does not work. The dominant model is a failure. After revealing this, the book goes on to demonstrate how a more constrained and humble law of unjust enrichment might emerge from the wreckage of the dominant model. As scholarly doubts around the dominant model increase, this thought-provoking revision of unjust enrichment is both welcome and needed.”

The TOC of this substantial work:

 

1: The Principle of Unjust Enrichment

Part One: What is an Enrichment?
2: The Enrichment Mystery
3: The Law's Tests for Enrichment
4: Enrichment and Objectivity
5: Enrichment and Economics
6: The Law's Objective Test and (Subjective) Value 
7: Relational Value

Part Two: Is the Law of Unjust Enrichment About Enrichment?
8: Enrichments that are not 'Enrichments'
9: 'Enrichments' that are not Enrichments
10: Subjective Devaluation and Freedom of Choice
11: Concluding Remarks on Enrichment

Part Three: What is the Injustice in an Unjust Enrichment?
12: Unjust Enrichment as a Moral Principle
13: The Adequacy of the Principle against Unjust Enrichment
14: The Injustice I: Intention
15: The Injustice II: Effective but Defective Transfer 
16: The Injustice III: Miscellaneous Considerations

Part Four: What is the Scope of Unjust Enrichment? 
17: No Transfer I: Title
18: No Transfer II: Trusts
19: No Transfer III: Services
20: The Wrong Defect: Transfers under Contract
21: Miscellaneous Issues

22: Conclusion

 

The web site is offering a 10% discount from the RRP of £100 for online orders.

Bravo to Allan!

Lionel