The Concept of Unjust Enrichment and the Law of Quasi-contracts, the End of an "Exception Française"?

What is the content of the “extra-contractual liability”? Spontaneously, an English or a German lawyer will think of two things: torts and unjust enrichment. A French lawyer, on the contrary, will think only of delicts (torts), and, after few seconds, she may add - with some hesitation - “quasi-contracts”. What are those “quasi-contracts”, and why do French lawyers not conceive them as a “liability”? As the law stands, quasi-contracts are not a liability, but a legal category incorporating three situations which appear to have little in common: management of another’s affairs, undue payment, and unjustified enrichment. However, in an attempt to rationalise the category, some authors argue that the quasi-contracts are underlined by a common idea: preventing and remedying “unjust” enrichment. This theory is appealing, but is it correct? Can the quasi-contracts be subsumed under such a “simple and elegant”, yet rather “evasive”, concept? 

A sandwich lunch will be available from 12.30. The meeting will begin at 1pm.