Paula Giliker, Professor of Comparative Law in the School of Law has published a new book, Vicarious liability in tort: A comparative perspective, with Cambridge University Press.   In this 320 page book, Paula examines the controversial doctrine of vicarious liability in tort and its role in modern tort law.  Vicarious liability is a principle imposing strict liability on one party for the wrongs of others, that is, liability without any proof of fault. Making an innocent party pay compensation for the torts of another may appear unjust and yet it is a principle found in all Western legal systems, be they civil law or common law. Despite uncertainty as to its justifications, it is accepted as a necessary part of our modern legal system.

Using her considerable experience as a comparative tort lawyer, Paula Giliker examines the principle of vicarious liability (or, to a civil lawyer, liability for the acts of others) in England and Wales, Australia, Canada, France and Germany, and with reference to legal systems in countries such as the United States, New Zealand and Spain.  She takes the view that in our modern global economy, we are unlikely to understand its meaning and rationale through study of one legal system alone and uses comparative analysis to both analyse the current state of the law and suggest how it could be improved.

The book is published in the Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law series, a forum for high quality studies in the field of public and private international and comparative law.

Features of the Book

• Analyses and explains a controversial area of tort law, being a principle of strict liability in a subject dominated by concepts of fault-based liability
• Provides access to law not only in other common law systems, but also other European systems
• Chapter on European private law and the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) is the first study of its implications for vicarious liability from a leading comparative lawyer
• Suggests a number of much needed reforms