Academic

Download of the Week

By Lawrence Solum

The Download of the Week is What is Tort Law for? Part 1: The Place of Corrective Justice by John Gardner. Here is the abstract:

In this paper I discuss the proposal that the law of torts exists to do justice, more specificaaly corrective justice, between the parties to a tort case. My aims include clarifying the proposal and defending it against some objections (as well as saving it from some defences that it could do without). Gradually the paper turns to a discussion of the rationale for doing corrective justice. I defend what I call the 'continuity thesis' according to which at least part of the rationale for doing corrective justice is to mitigate one's wrongs, including one's torts. I try to show how much of the law of torts this thesis helps to explain, but also what it leaves unexplained. In the process I show (what I will discuss in a later companion paper) namely that 'corrective justice' cannot be a complete answer to the question of what tort law is for.

A powerful, subtle, and elegant paper. Highly recommended. Download it while its hot!

And if I may, I also recommend Incorporation and Originalist Theory by Lawrence Solum.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on January 23, 2010 (boomark / email).