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I suspect Mr Hedley may have just confirmed our growing suspicions about him.

FDR

-----Original Message-----

From: Steve Hedley
Sent: 1/19/02 1:02 PM
Subject: [RDG:] Annual Lecture in Jurisprudence and Public Policy

At 13:32 17/01/02 -0500, Lionel wrote:

It gives me great pleasure to announce that on Thursday 14 March 2002, Professor Peter Birks will give the Annual Lecture in Jurisprudence and Public Policy at the Faculty of Law of McGill University. The title of the lecture is "Conscientious Enemies of the Rule of Law". All are welcome.

This was puzzling at first, given the lack of any obvious connection with restitution. But then I realised that a title like that is meant as a challenge to our collective ingenuity. Having thought long and hard, I can only see two possibilities.

Perhaps the talk is really about restitution on frustration of contract. In fact, the title conceals a succinct summary of the issues in the leading case of BP v. Hunt [1979] 1 WLR 783. It is an anagram of:

"Oil flow safe? Cut! O no! I see enrichment! Sue!"

On the other hand, the talk might really be a critique of the notoriously unsatisfactory law on restitution for wrongs. For the title is also an anagram of:

"Loot enrichment, felon? I sue, we sue. Fiasco!"

Obviously I could be missing something here, and others may have noticed a more satisfactory solution. I throw the matter open for general discussion.

Steve Hedley

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FACULTY OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

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www.stevehedley.com
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