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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

111 works between 1993 and 2024

41 - 60 of 111 works

2017

Book Chapter

The dynamics of private law and power

Barker, Kit (2017). The dynamics of private law and power. Private law and power. (pp. 3-28) edited by Kit Barker, Simone Degeling, Karen Fairweather and Ross B. Grantham. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart.

The dynamics of private law and power

2017

Book

Unjust enrichment

Barker, Kit and Grantham, Ross (2017). Unjust enrichment. 2nd ed. Chatswood, NSW, Australia: LexisNexis Butterworths.

Unjust enrichment

2017

Book Chapter

Designing Reparation: Lessons from Private Law

Degeling, Simone and Barker, Kit (2017). Designing Reparation: Lessons from Private Law. New Directions for Law in Australia: Essays in Contemporary Law Reform. (pp. 321-328) edited by Ron Levy, Molly O'Brien, Simon Rice, Pauline Ridge and Margaret Thornton. ACT, Canberra: ANU Press. doi: 10.22459/NDLA.09.2017.29

Designing Reparation: Lessons from Private Law

2016

Journal Article

Public authority liability for negligence in the Post-Ipp era: sceptical reflections on the 'policy defence'

Bell-James, Justine and Barker, Kit (2016). Public authority liability for negligence in the Post-Ipp era: sceptical reflections on the 'policy defence'. Melbourne University Law Review, 40 (1), 1-45.

Public authority liability for negligence in the Post-Ipp era: sceptical reflections on the 'policy defence'

2016

Journal Article

Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2016

Barker, Kit and Walpole, Samuel (2016). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2016. Restitution Law Review, 24, 185-211.

Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2016

2016

Book

Private Law in the Twenty-First Century

Kit Barker, Karen Fairweather and Ross B. Grantham eds. (2016). Private Law in the Twenty-First Century. United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.

Private Law in the Twenty-First Century

2016

Conference Publication

Analytical Philosophy and Private Law: The Modern Value of Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld

Barker, Kit (2016). Analytical Philosophy and Private Law: The Modern Value of Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld. A Discourse on the Legal Method: Historical and Philosophical Influences on Legal Thinking', Moscow, Russia, 22-25 June 2016.

Analytical Philosophy and Private Law: The Modern Value of Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld

2016

Conference Publication

Discretionary power and the law of negligence - public power, private duty

Barker, Kit (2016). Discretionary power and the law of negligence - public power, private duty. Visitor Seminar Series, Sheffield, United Kingdom, 5 July 2016.

Discretionary power and the law of negligence - public power, private duty

2015

Book

The law of misstatements: 50 years on from Hedley Byrne v Heller

Kit Barker, Ross Grantham and Warren Swain eds. (2015). The law of misstatements: 50 years on from Hedley Byrne v Heller. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.

The law of misstatements: 50 years on from Hedley Byrne v Heller

2015

Journal Article

Drifting towards proportionate liability: ethics and pragmatics

Barker, Kit and Steele, Jenny (2015). Drifting towards proportionate liability: ethics and pragmatics. Cambridge Law Journal, 74 (1), 49-77. doi: 10.1017/S0008197314001135

Drifting towards proportionate liability: ethics and pragmatics

2015

Journal Article

Private law and grave historical injustice: the role of private law

Degeling, Simone and Barker, Kit (2015). Private law and grave historical injustice: the role of private law. Monash University Law Review, 41 (2), 377-413.

Private law and grave historical injustice: the role of private law

2015

Journal Article

Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2015

Barker, Kit and Tait, Harrison (2015). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2015. Restitution Law Review, 23, 141-169.

Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2015

2015

Book Chapter

Hedley Byrne v Heller: Issues for the Beginning of the Twenty First Century

Barker, Kit (2015). Hedley Byrne v Heller: Issues for the Beginning of the Twenty First Century. The Law of Misstatements: 50 Years on from Hedley Byrne v Heller. (pp. 3-26) edited by Kit Barker, Ross B. Grantham and Warren Swain. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.

Hedley Byrne v Heller: Issues for the Beginning of the Twenty First Century

2015

Book Chapter

Injunctions

Barker, Kit (2015). Injunctions. Remedies: commentary and materials. (pp. 1021-1136) edited by Kit Barker, Elise Bant, Simone Degeling and Normann Witzleb. Pyrmont, NSW, Australia: Thomson Reuters.

Injunctions

2015

Book Chapter

Negligent Misstatement in Australia - Resolving The Uncertain Legacy of Esanda

Barker, Kit (2015). Negligent Misstatement in Australia - Resolving The Uncertain Legacy of Esanda. The Law of Misstatements: 50 Years on from Hedley Byrne v Heller. (pp. 319-344) edited by Barker, Kit, Grantham, Ross and Swain, Warren. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.

Negligent Misstatement in Australia - Resolving The Uncertain Legacy of Esanda

2015

Book Chapter

Specific relief - general principles and specific performance

Barker, Kit (2015). Specific relief - general principles and specific performance. Remedies: commentary and materials. (pp. 909-1020) edited by Kit Barker, Elise Bant, Simone Degeling and Normann Witzleb. Pyrmont, NSW, Australia: Thomson Reuters.

Specific relief - general principles and specific performance

2015

Book

The Law of Misstatements: 50 Years on from Hedley Byrne v Heller

Kit Barker, Ross B. Grantham and Warren Swain eds. (2015). The Law of Misstatements: 50 Years on from Hedley Byrne v Heller. 1st ed. Hart studies in private law, Oxford: Hart Publishing.

The Law of Misstatements: 50 Years on from Hedley Byrne v Heller

2015

Book Chapter

The nature of remedies

Barker, Kit, Bant, Elise, Degeling, Simone and Witzleb, Normann (2015). The nature of remedies. Remedies: commentary and materials. (pp. 1-34) edited by Kit Barker, Elise Bant, Simone Degeling and Normann Witzleb. Pyrmont, NSW, Australia: Thomson Reuters.

The nature of remedies

2014

Journal Article

Damages without loss: can Hohfeld help?

Barker, Kit (2014). Damages without loss: can Hohfeld help?. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 34 (4), 631-658. doi: 10.1093/ojls/gqu012

Damages without loss: can Hohfeld help?

2014

Conference Publication

Drifting Towards Proportionate Liability - Ethics and Pragmatics

Barker, Kit and Jenny Steele (2014). Drifting Towards Proportionate Liability - Ethics and Pragmatics. Obligations VII, Hong Kong, 15th-18th July.

Drifting Towards Proportionate Liability - Ethics and Pragmatics

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 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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communications@uq.edu.au