Thesis
Non-compensatory damages and public interests
- Abstract:
-
According to received wisdom, non-compensatory damages (NCDs) have nothing significant in common with each other save that they are not compensatory. Indeed, the awards of punitive, nominal, contemptuous, vindicatory, restitutionary and disgorgement damages are typically seen as a group of disparate remedies.
This thesis is the first attempt to analyse NCDs as a category. It focuses on damages in English tort and contract law. The thesis argues that most awards traditionally referred to as NCDs can be collectively defined as awards justified by damage to public interests. The contrast between such ‘public interest damages’ and compensatory awards, as the thesis shows, can be traced back to a fundamental distinction between measures of damages justified by considerations giving effect to individual rights and measures justified by non-rights-based considerations, namely violations of public interests. The law should acknowledge these two fundamental justifications because the distinction between them has doctrinal implications. For example, the thesis contends that unlike compensatory awards, public interest damages should not be available as of right.
The thesis shows that the similarities and overlaps amongst individual types of public interest damages and the distinctions between compensatory and non-compensatory damages (qua public interest damages) are too important to be ignored. Thus, it is recommended that we understand and develop public interest damages collectively as a distinct class of awards. Dealing with potential counter arguments, the thesis shows how such a collective approach could be implemented in practice and that this approach would not compromise the core tenets of the doctrines governing the award of NCDs. It also reveals the benefits of approaching public interest damages collectively.
Overall, by way of advancing a new interpretation of the law of NCDs, the thesis also contributes to our understanding of the English law of damages more generally and of the typically overlooked, yet significant role of public interests in the law of damages.
Actions
Authors
Contributors
- Institution:
- University of Oxford
- Division:
- SSD
- Department:
- Law
- Role:
- Supervisor
- Institution:
- University of Oxford
- Division:
- SSD
- Department:
- Law
- Role:
- Examiner
- Role:
- Examiner
- DOI:
- Type of award:
- DPhil
- Level of award:
- Doctoral
- Awarding institution:
- University of Oxford
- Language:
-
English
- Keywords:
- Subjects:
- Deposit date:
-
2023-11-15
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Janeček, V
- Copyright date:
- 2023
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