P.S. Atiyah – författare

Atiyah's Introduction to the Law of Contract is a well-known text through which thousands of university students have first encountered the law of contract, and the new edition has long been eagerly awaited by university teachers and students. This sixth edition, updated by Stephen Smith, continues to provide readers with an introduction to the theories, policies, and ideas that underlie the law, placing an equal emphasis on the law and critical analysis. In particular, the discussion of recent cases and legislation is centred on why contract law is the way it is, whether it can be justified, and, if not, what should be done to improve it. The sixth edition has been revised to place the law of contract in a modern context and to account for recent developments in the law, as well as those in academic thinking and writing. Addressing European influences and including perspectives from comparative law, this remains a stimulating and authoritative exposition of the modern law of contract.

PS Atiyah (1931 2018) was one of the world's great legal scholars of the twentieth century and formerly Professor of English Law at the University of Oxford. He made immense contributions to, in particular, the law of contract and the law of torts.Atiyah's principal works include The Rise and Fall of Freedom of Contract, The Sale of Goods, An Introduction to the Law of Contract, Pragmatism and Theory in English Law, The Damages Lottery, Form and Substance in Anglo-American Law and Accidents, Compensation and the Law.His work is of enduring relevance. His autobiography sheds light on his research and on the state of the academy in the second half of the previous century.

A man slips on a dance floor and breaks his leg. He recovers damages. A child has both legs amputated as a result of meningitis and is awarded nothing. The law''s justification for awarding damages in the first case is that the man''s injury was the fault of someone else, while in the second case damages are denied because nobody was at fault. In this searching critique of the present law and practice relating to damages, Professor Patrick Atiyah shows that this system is in fact a lottery. He contends that the public are paying far too much for an unfair and inefficient insurance system and that reform is long overdue. His conclusion is that actions for damages for injuries should be abolished and replaced with a new no-fault road accident scheme, and actions for other injuries should be dealt with by individual or group insurance policies.