Edinburgh Centre for Private Law

Just published! Second entry by Dr Grigoris Bacharis @uoelawschool.bsky.social on 'Attributing Wrongdoing Without Persons? Competition Law and the Challenge to Delict Theory: Part II'
blogs.ed.ac.uk/private-law/...

Are you interested in studying private law from a comparative perspective? We offer one scholarship of £10,000 for applicants to the LLM Comparative Private Law starting in September 2026.

Find out more about the programme and scholarship on website: www.law.ed.ac.uk/study/master...

Reminder! Join us on Wednesday 1 October at 5pm for the Dean's Lecture on 'Gifts, Fairness, Obligation and Power' delivered by Professor Michele Graziadei, University of Turin. The lecture is held in the Usha Kasera Lecture Theatre. There is no need to register.

www.law.ed.ac.uk/news-events/...

Join us on Wednesday 1 October at 5pm for the Dean's Lecture on 'Gifts, Fairness, Obligation and Power' delivered by Professor Michele Graziadei, University of Turin. The lecture is held in the Usha Kasera Lecture Theatre.
The abstract can be found here.
www.law.ed.ac.uk/news-events/...

Check out our new blog entry on 'Attributing Wrongdoing Without Persons? Competition Law and the Challenge to Delict Theory: Part I' by Dr Grigoris Bacharis @uoelawschool.bsky.social
blogs.ed.ac.uk/private-law/...

New blog entry on the value of spending a research stay in another jurisdiction by Anna Viola Bleichenbacher, University of Basel. Anna spent a few months at @uoelawschool.bsky.social under the supervision of Professor Alexandra Braun.
blogs.ed.ac.uk/private-law/...

Just published by EUP! Paperback of 'MacCormick's Scotland' edited by Professor Neil Walker with a fascinating range of contributions exploring the life and work of Sir Neil MacCormick. There is a discount of 30%!

Just published! Read our new blog entry by Lorna Richardson @uoelawschool.bsky.social on 'Error in the Law of Contract: Shaping a Doctrine Fit for the 21st Century. blogs.ed.ac.uk/private-law/...

Check out the second blog entry by Professor David Fox (University of Edinburgh) on 'Homer, Paulus, and the Evolution of Economic Exchange - Part II'
blogs.ed.ac.uk/private-law/...

Just published! New blog entry by Professor David Fox on 'Homer, Paulus, and the Evolution of Economic Exchange'.
blogs.ed.ac.uk/private-law/...

Join us on Friday 23 May 2025 (2-6pm) for our event on 'A Digital Assets Bill for Scotland'. Details are in the link.
www.law.ed.ac.uk/news-events/...

Join us on Friday 23 May 2025 (2-6pm) for our event on 'A Digital Assets Bill for Scotland'. Details are in the link.
www.law.ed.ac.uk/news-events/...

Join us on Tuesday 29 April at 1pm for a talk by Prof Dr Simon Laimer (University of Innsbruck) on "Assignment of Claims from a Comparative Perspective: The Austrian Law and the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023"
www.law.ed.ac.uk/news-events/...

On Thursday 24 April at 2:30pm Dr Susanna Macdonald-Mulvihill and @alicekrzanich.bsky.social are leading a workshop on the idea of "Labour as Property in Scots Law". Join us!
www.law.ed.ac.uk/news-events/...

Check out our latest blog entry by Professor Katy Barnett on 'Scots Law Influencing English Law on Deposits and Debt'!

blogs.ed.ac.uk/private-law/...

Read our latest blog entry by Professor Reinhard Zimmermann (Max Planck Institute of Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg) on the importance of book reviews!
blogs.ed.ac.uk/private-law/...

Check out the Symposium on Prof Alexandra Braun's monograph 'Claiming a Promised Inheritance: A Comparative Study' (OUP 2022) just published in the Edinburgh Law Review! Comments are by David Cabrelli, Rosy Harding, John Mee and Flora Vern.
www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3...

Join us on Friday 7 March 2-5pm for a seminar on 'Current Research in Delict and Tort Law'. Our speakers are Professor Jonathan Morgan, Dr Grigoris Baccharis, Hannah Gibbs, Lisa Cowan, and Luca Kaller.
www.law.ed.ac.uk/news-events/...

The Historical Context of <i>Saunders v Vautier</i> | Edinburgh Law Review Anyone approaching the study of the English law of trusts comes across “the rule in Saunders v Vautier”, named after the 1841 decision of the Court of Chancery in which it is currently assumed that it was laid down. In its narrowest form, the rule provides that the beneficiary of a trust of shares and their dividends, which is to take effect “when” the beneficiary reaches the age of majority, with no gift over, is entitled to have the shares transferred to him as soon as he comes of age. The effect of the implementation of the rule is to terminate the trust, notwithstanding the settlor's contrary intention, which is simply overridden. In this article we intend to show that a distinction between two meanings of “when” in testamentary dispositions underpinned the rule: a conditional meaning and a dispositive meaning. That distinction was taken from the jurisprudence of the spiritual courts in England, based on a development of Roman law sources in the European ius commune which then found its way into the French and other civil law codes. Academic writings have ignored this side of the story, which is highly relevant from a comparative law perspective.

The latest issue of the Edinburgh Law Review contains a piece by Professors Maurizio Lupoi and Michele Graziadei on 'The Historical Context of Saunders v Vautier'.
www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10....

Error in the Law of Contract: Shaping a Doctrine Fit for the 21st Century | Edinburgh Law Review This article examines error in the law of contract. For centuries it has been said to be one of the most complex parts of contract law. In the mid twentieth century the Scots law of error was described as being in a “state bordering on chaos” and more recent judicial statements continue to recognise the difficulties. Given the problems with error it is rarely used as a basis to challenge the validity of a contract. As a result, few cases are heard in court and the law of error fails to develop, such that our understanding of the area remains limited There has been some important academic commentary on the law of error. However, most of that discussion sought to challenge developments that had taken place, especially the influence of English law in this area, or to develop an underlying rationale for decisions that appear difficult to reconcile. It may be said that given the problems of simply understanding what the Scots law of error actually is most of the focus to date has been on that alone. As such, no significant attention has been given to what the law of error ought to be

And check out Lorna Richardson's article on 'Error in the Law of Contract: Shaping a Doctrine Fit for the 21st Century' just published in the ELR!
www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3...

Check out the new blog entry by Dr John Macleod on 'Primary Rights and Liability in Delict'.
blogs.ed.ac.uk/private-law/...

Join us on 26 February at 5pm for a talk by Dr Joyman Lee, University of Glasgow, on "Understanding Trusts as Property in (Semi-)Civil Law
Jurisdictions: Comparisons Between Scotland and Japan"

www.law.ed.ac.uk/news-events/...

Are you interested in finding out more about our LLM in Comparative Private Law? Join Professor David Fox and some alumni on Tuesday 25 February at 5-6 pm to find out more about what it's like to study this LLM at Edinburgh Law School.

You can register here: lnkd.in/ezEhmRmS

Are you interested in studying private law from a comparative perspective? Come and join us at Edinburgh Law School where we have a fantastic programme!

Find out more here: www.law.ed.ac.uk/study/master...

Now in paperback and with discount! Comparative Perspectives in Scottish and Norwegian Legal History, Trade and Seafaring 1200-1800 edited by Andrew R.C. Simpson and Jørn Øyrehagen Sunde and published in the Edinburgh Studies in Law Series.
edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-compara...