New book celebrating Simon Whittaker explores key themes in comparative private law

A new volume of essays celebrates the scholarly legacy of Professor Simon Whittaker in the field of comparative law.

Edited by Oxford's Dr Marco Cappelletti, Professor Ciara Kennefick and Professor Dorota Leczykiewicz, the collection brings together leading academics from across Europe to explore central themes in private law, reflecting the breadth and depth of Professor Whittaker's scholarship. Currently an emeritus research fellow in Law at St John's College, Oxford, Professor Whittaker was a fellow and tutor at St John's and Professor of European Comparative Law in the Faculty of Law until his retirement in 2023.

Comparative Reflections in Private Law (OUP 2026) is split into three distinct parts. The first part of the volume focuses on contract law, examining the formation of a contract, interpretation, illegality, the doctrine of change of circumstances, and remedies. The second part focuses on tort law, with contributions exploring the role of violation of a right, the concept of foreseeability, the justifications for the non-recoverability of pure economic loss, and the treatment of illegality in product liability. The final part of the volume turns to private law intersections, addressing challenges that cut across traditional boundaries: the doctrine of the subsidiarity of unjustified enrichment and the difficulty of devising harmonised contract law in the EU from the plurality of laws and languages of the member states.

Together, the contributions included in the new volume highlight the distinctive blend of intellectual rigour, curiosity, and openness to both tradition and innovation that have characterised Professor Whittaker's scholarship throughout his career.