Scholars of Contract Law

James Goudkamp, Donal Nolan

• Publisher: Hart Publishing
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781509965458
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781509938476
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Law Theory & Practice
• Index: Law

This book provides a counter-balance to the traditional focus on judicial decisions by exploring the contribution of legal scholars to the development of private law.

In the book the work of a selection of leading scholars of contract law from across the common law world, ranging from Sir Jeffrey Gilbert (1674–1726) to Professor Brian Coote (1929–2019), is addressed by legal historians and current scholars in the field. The focus is on the nature of the work produced by the scholars in question, important influences on their work, and the impact which that work in turn had on thinking about contract law. The book also includes an introductory chapter and an afterword by Professor William Twining that explore connections between the scholars and recurrent themes.

The process of subjecting contract law scholarship to sustained analysis provides new insights into the intellectual development of contract law and reveals the central role played by scholars in that process. And by focusing attention on the work of influential contract scholars, the book serves to emphasise the importance of legal scholarship to the development of the common law more generally.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Preface
• Contents
• Contributors
• Table of Cases
• Table of Legislation
• 1. Scholars of Contract Law: Individuals and Themes
• 2. Sir Jeffrey Gilbert (1674–1726)
• 3. Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1765–1837)
• 4. Stephen Martin Leake (1826–1893)
• 5. Professor Sir William Anson (1843–1914)
• 6. Professor Sir Frederick Pollock (1845–1937)
• 7. Professor Samuel Williston (1861–1963)
• 8. Professor Arthur Linton Corbin (1874–1967)
• 9. Professor Geoffrey Cheshire (1886–1978) and Cecil Fifoot (1899–1975)
• 10. Professor Friedrich Kessler (1901–1998)
• 11. Professor Sir Guenter Treitel (1928–2019)
• 12. Professor Ian Roderick Macneil (1929–2010)
• 13. Professor Brian Coote (1929–2019)
• 14. Professor Patrick Atiyah (1931–2018)
• 15. Afterword: Understanding Contracts – A Realist Perspective
• Index
• Copyright Page