2008 Handbooks

This unit tracks, predicts and analyses emerging trends in Tort law, focusing on developing areas in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, USA and New Zealand. Topics include: Dignitary injuries (Defamation, privacy, breach of confidence, infliction of emotional injury and Wilkinson v Downton, sexual harassment, nuisance; Sexual abuse, battery, consent, breach of fiduciary duty, exploitation; School torts including educational malpractice, negligence, bullying; Medicine and torts (wrongful life, wrongful birth, consent, preconception liability; ethical issues); Toxic torts and class actions, including DES cases, causation, tobacco litigation, addiction and volenti, asbestos, ethical issues; Sports torts. One aim is to highlight the flexibility of tort law, by examining ways in which established torts may be re-framed to suit modern demands. The unit raises thought provoking and challenging questions about the nature of common law, and its evolution and capacity to respond to change in a dynamic environment.