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Professor Kit Barker
Professor

Kit Barker

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 334 67609

Overview

Background

Kit Barker joined the TC Beirne School of Law in 2006. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford, where he graduated with first class honours (in 1988) and subsequently completed the BCL (with distinction) in 1991. He was admitted to the Middle Temple Inn of Court as a Harmsworth Scholar and to the Bar of England and Wales in 1990. He is interested in private law as a whole, but specialises in the law of torts and unjust enrichment law and the law's doctrine, philosophical foundations and remedies. More recently, his work has explored the interface between private law and public law and public policy, with a focus on the tortious liability of government, misfeasance in public office and the use of private enforcement techniques in public law. He is a former Associate Dean (Research) at the TC Beirne School of Law and an assistant editor of the Torts Law Journal. He is co-author of three books - Unjust Enrichment (3rd ed, Sydney, Lexis Nexis, Butterworths, 2024, 1st ed, 2008), The Law of Torts in Australia (5th ed, 2011, OUP) and Remedies: Commentary and Materials (Thomson, 2015). He is also an editor and contributor to six essay collections: Life and Death in Private Law (Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2024), Private Law: Key Encounters with Public Law (Cambridge University Press, 2013), The Law of Misstatements (Hart Publishing, 2015); Private Law and Power (Hart Publishing, 2017) ; Private Law in the Twenty-First Century (Hart Publishing, 2017); Apportionment in Private Law (Hart Publishing, 2018) and the Research Handbook on Unjust Enrichment and Restitution (Edward Elgar, 2020).

He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and current director of the Australian Centre of Private Law at the TC Beirne School of Law.

Availability

Professor Kit Barker is:
Available for supervision

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Arts, University of Oxford
  • Masters (Coursework), University of Oxford
  • Masters (Coursework) of Law, University of Oxford

Research interests

  • State Liability in Tort

    Civil liability of the state for for the tort of misfeasance in public office, false imprisonment and negligence in the execution of its public functions.

  • Philosophical Foundations of the Common Law

  • Defamation and Privacy

  • Private Law Remedies

  • Restitution and Unjust Enrichment

    The law and philosophical underpinnings of civil remedies for unjust enrichment.

  • Torts

Works

Search Professor Kit Barker’s works on UQ eSpace

102 works between 1993 and 2024

1 - 20 of 102 works

Featured

2024

Book Chapter

Suicide, Madness and State - The Tale from Tort

Barker, Kit (2024). Suicide, Madness and State - The Tale from Tort. Life and Death in Private Law. (pp. 149-174) edited by Kate Falconer, Kit Barker and Andrew Fell. Oxford, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury.

Suicide, Madness and State - The Tale from Tort

Featured

2021

Journal Article

Misfeasance in public office: raw statistics from the Australian front line

Barker, Kit and Lamont, Katelyn (2021). Misfeasance in public office: raw statistics from the Australian front line. Sydney Law Review, 43 (3), 315-348.

Misfeasance in public office: raw statistics from the Australian front line

Featured

2021

Book Chapter

Punishment in private law - no such thing (any more)

Barker, Kit (2021). Punishment in private law - no such thing (any more). Punishment and private law . (pp. 35-62) edited by Elise Bant, Wayne Courtney, James Goudkamp and Jeannie Marie Paterson. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing . doi: 10.5040/9781509939183.ch-002

Punishment in private law - no such thing (any more)

Featured

2020

Journal Article

Unjust enrichment in Australia - What is(n't) it ? Implications for legal reasoning and practice

Barker, Kit (2020). Unjust enrichment in Australia - What is(n't) it ? Implications for legal reasoning and practice. Melbourne University Law Review, 2020 (43), 903-936.

Unjust enrichment in Australia - What is(n't) it ? Implications for legal reasoning and practice

2017

Book

Private law and power

Kit Barker, Simone Degeling, Karen Fairweather and Ross Grantham eds. (2017). Private law and power. Hart Studies in Private Law, Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.

Private law and power

2024

Book

Unjust enrichment

Barker, Kit and Grantham, Ross (2024). Unjust enrichment. 3rd ed. Chatswood, NSW Australia: LexisNexis Butterworths.

Unjust enrichment

2024

Journal Article

Unjust enrichment in Australia 2024

Barker, Kit and Kretowicz, Anna (2024). Unjust enrichment in Australia 2024. Llloyds Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, 2024 (May), 302-350.

Unjust enrichment in Australia 2024

2024

Conference Publication

Suicide and the State: a Duty of Care? Reconsidering Stuart v Kirkland-Veenstra

Barker, Kit (2024). Suicide and the State: a Duty of Care? Reconsidering Stuart v Kirkland-Veenstra. Tort Law and Compensation Systems, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 15-16 February 2024.

Suicide and the State: a Duty of Care? Reconsidering Stuart v Kirkland-Veenstra

2023

Book Chapter

Lamb v Cotogno (1987): insured punishment

Barker, Kit (2023). Lamb v Cotogno (1987): insured punishment. Landmark cases in the law of punitive damages. (pp. 99-128) edited by James Goudkamp and Eleni Katsampouka. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.

Lamb v Cotogno (1987): insured punishment

2023

Journal Article

Unjust enrichment in Australia 2023

Barker, Kit and Bristow, Penelope (2023). Unjust enrichment in Australia 2023. Lloyds Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, 2023 (1), 130-170.

Unjust enrichment in Australia 2023

2022

Conference Publication

Insured punishment - the awkward case of Lamb v Cotogno

Barker, Kit (2022). Insured punishment - the awkward case of Lamb v Cotogno. Landmark Cases in the Law of Punitive Damages, Oxford, United Kingdom, 30 Sept, 6-7 Oct 2022.

Insured punishment - the awkward case of Lamb v Cotogno

2022

Journal Article

Unjust enrichment in Australia 2022

Barker, Kit, Bristow, Penelope and Walpole, Samuel (2022). Unjust enrichment in Australia 2022. Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, 2022 (2), 289-312.

Unjust enrichment in Australia 2022

2021

Conference Publication

Rights of action in private and public law: the analytics of enforcement

Barker, Kit (2021). Rights of action in private and public law: the analytics of enforcement. *, *, *. McGill University.

Rights of action in private and public law: the analytics of enforcement

2021

Journal Article

Unjust enrichment in Australia 2021

Walpole, Samuel and Barker, Kit (2021). Unjust enrichment in Australia 2021. Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, 2021, 179-204.

Unjust enrichment in Australia 2021

2020

Conference Publication

Unjust Enrichment in Australia- What Is(n't) it ?

Barker, Kit (2020). Unjust Enrichment in Australia- What Is(n't) it ? . Melbourne University Obligations Discussion Group - Unjust Enrichment and Restitution, Melbourne/Zoom, 3-4 December 2020.

Unjust Enrichment in Australia- What Is(n't) it ?

2020

Journal Article

Unjust enrichment in Australia

Walpole, Samuel and Barker, Kit (2020). Unjust enrichment in Australia. Lloyds Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, 2020, 311-343.

Unjust enrichment in Australia

2020

Book Chapter

The evolution of unjust enrichment law: theory and practice

Bant, Elise , Barker, Kit and Degeling, Simone (2020). The evolution of unjust enrichment law: theory and practice. Research handbook on unjust enrichment and restitution. (pp. 2-27) edited by Elise Bant, Kit Barker and Simone Degeling. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar. doi: 10.4337/9781788114264.00007

The evolution of unjust enrichment law: theory and practice

2020

Book

Remedies: commentary and materials

Normann Witzleb, Elise Bant, Simone Degeling and Kit Barker (2020). Remedies: commentary and materials. 7th ed. Sydney: Thomson Reuters.

Remedies: commentary and materials

2020

Book

Research Handbook on Unjust Enrichment and Restitution

Elise Bant, Kit Barker and Simone Degeling eds. (2020). Research Handbook on Unjust Enrichment and Restitution. Research Handbooks in Private and Commercial Law series, Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: 10.4337/9781788114264

Research Handbook on Unjust Enrichment and Restitution

2019

Conference Publication

Unjust Enrichment - Implications for Legal Reasoning and Practice

Barker, Kit (2019). Unjust Enrichment - Implications for Legal Reasoning and Practice. King and Wood Mallesons Continuing Legal Education Programme, King and Wood Mallesons, Brisbane, 9 May 2019.

Unjust Enrichment - Implications for Legal Reasoning and Practice

Funding

Past funding

  • 2018 - 2019
    Foundations of the Common Law Library (ARC LIEF grant administered by The University of New South Wales)
    University of New South Wales
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Professor Kit Barker is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Available projects

  • The law and theory of unjust enrichment

    Potential topics available include:

    • Foundational theories of unjust enrichment
    • Remedies for unjust enrichment

    For further information contact Professor Kit Barker, e: k.barker@law.uq.edu.au

  • The modern law of torts

    Potential topics available include:

    • State Negligence
    • Liabilities for Pure Economic Loss
    • Misfeasance in Public Office and False Prosecution
    • Private actions for the Invasion of Privacy
    • Remedies for Defamation

    For further information contact Professor Kit Barker, e: k.barker@law.uq.edu.au.

  • Private Enforcement

    Potential topics available include:

    • Theories of Public and Private Enforcement
    • The role of the Bounty Hunter – past and present

    For further information contact Professor Kit Barker, e: k.barker@law.uq.edu.au

  • The law and theory of unjust enrichment

    Potential topics available include:

    • Foundational theories of unjust enrichment
    • Remedies for unjust enrichment

    For further information contact Professor Kit Barker, e: k.barker@law.uq.edu.au

  • The modern law of torts

    Potential topics available include:

    • State Negligence
    • Liabilities for Pure Economic Loss
    • Misfeasance in Public Office and False Prosecution
    • Private actions for the Invasion of Privacy
    • Remedies for Defamation

    For further information contact Professor Kit Barker, e: k.barker@law.uq.edu.au.

  • Private Law Enforcement

    Potential topics available include:

    • Theories of Public and Private Enforcement
    • The role of the Bounty Hunter – past and present

    For further information contact Professor Kit Barker, e: k.barker@law.uq.edu.au

Supervision history

Completed supervision

Media

Enquiries

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