
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
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Arts, University of Oxford
- Masters (Coursework), University of Oxford
- Masters (Coursework) of Law, University of Oxford
Research interests
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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.
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Philosophical Foundations of the Common Law
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Defamation and Privacy
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Private Law Remedies
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Restitution and Unjust Enrichment
The law and philosophical underpinnings of civil remedies for unjust enrichment.
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Torts
Works
Search Professor Kit Barker’s works on UQ eSpace
2010
Journal Article
Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2010
Barker, Kit (2010). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2010. Restitution Law Review, 18, 95-117.
2009
Book Chapter
The nature of responsibility for gain: Gain, harm and keeping the lid on pandora's box
Barker, Kit (2009). The nature of responsibility for gain: Gain, harm and keeping the lid on pandora's box. The Philosophical Foundations of the Law of Unjust Enrichment. (pp. 146-180) edited by R. Chambers, C. Mitchell and J. Penner. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567751.003.0006
2009
Journal Article
Restitution Regional Digest - Australia
Barker, Kit (2009). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia. Restitution Law Review, 17, 147-173.
2009
Journal Article
Review of The law of rescission
Barker, Kit (2009). Review of The law of rescission. Law Quarterly Review, 125, 175-177.
2008
Book
Unjust enrichment
Barker, Kit and Grantham, Ross (2008). Unjust enrichment. Sydney, NSW, Australia: LexisNexis Butterworths.
2008
Journal Article
Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2008
Barker, Kit (2008). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2008. Restitution Law Review, 16 (1), 141-160.
2008
Book Chapter
Responsibility for gain: Unjust factors or absence of legal ground? Starting points in unjust enrichment law
Barker, K. (2008). Responsibility for gain: Unjust factors or absence of legal ground? Starting points in unjust enrichment law. Structure and justification in private law : Essays for Peter Birks. (pp. 47-74) edited by Charles Rickett and Ross Grantham. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.
2008
Book Chapter
Economic loss and the duty of care: A study in the exercise of legal justification
Barker, Kit (2008). Economic loss and the duty of care: A study in the exercise of legal justification. Justifying private law remedies. (pp. 173-201) edited by C. Rickett. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.
2007
Journal Article
Restitution Regional Digest - Australia
Barker, Kit (2007). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia. Restitution Law Review, 15, 150-170.
2007
Journal Article
Equity in Commerical Law by Simone Degeling and James Edelman (eds)
Barker, Kit (2007). Equity in Commerical Law by Simone Degeling and James Edelman (eds). The Modern Law Review, 70 (1), 163-167. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2230.2006.00631_1.x
2006
Journal Article
Wielding Occam’s razor: Pruning strategies for economic loss
Barker, Kit (2006). Wielding Occam’s razor: Pruning strategies for economic loss. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 26 (2), 289-302. doi: 10.1093/ojls/gql004
2006
Journal Article
Theorising unjust enrichment : Being realist(ic)?
Barker, C D (2006). Theorising unjust enrichment : Being realist(ic)?. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 26 (3), 609-626. doi: 10.1093/ojls/gql021
2005
Journal Article
Unfamiliar waters: Negligent advocates, egregious errors and lost chances of acquittal
Barker, Kit (2005). Unfamiliar waters: Negligent advocates, egregious errors and lost chances of acquittal. University of Queensland Law Journal, 24 (2), 467-477.
2004
Journal Article
Review of S. Degeling, Restitutionary Rights to Share in Damages (Cambridge, 2003)
Barker, Kit (2004). Review of S. Degeling, Restitutionary Rights to Share in Damages (Cambridge, 2003). Law Quarterly Review, 120, 351-354.
2004
Journal Article
The new Birksian approach to unjust enrichment
Burrows, A., Barker, K. and Swadling, W. (2004). The new Birksian approach to unjust enrichment. Restitution Law Review, 12, 260-265.
2004
Book Chapter
Understanding the Unjust Enrichment Principle in Private Law: A Study of the Concept and Its Reasons
Barker, Christopher Douglas (2004). Understanding the Unjust Enrichment Principle in Private Law: A Study of the Concept and Its Reasons. Understanding Unjust Enrichment. (pp. 79-110) edited by Jason W. Neyers, Mitchell McInnes and Stephen G.A. Pitel. Oxford: Hart Publishing.
2003
Journal Article
Coping with failure: Re-appraising pre-contractual remuneration
Barker, K. (2003). Coping with failure: Re-appraising pre-contractual remuneration. Journal of Contract Law, 19 (2), 105-133.
2001
Journal Article
Riddles, remedies and restitution: quantifying gain in unjust enrichment law
Barker, Kit (2001). Riddles, remedies and restitution: quantifying gain in unjust enrichment law. Current Legal Problems, 54 (1), 255-305. doi: 10.1093/clp/54.1.255
2001
Journal Article
Review of P. Jaffey, The Nature and Scope of the Law of Restitution
Barker, Kit (2001). Review of P. Jaffey, The Nature and Scope of the Law of Restitution. Restitution Law Review, 232-239.
2000
Book Chapter
Unjust Enrichment
Kit Barker and L. Smith (2000). Unjust Enrichment. Law's Futures. (pp. 411-432) edited by Hayton. Oxford: Hart Publishing.
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Kit Barker is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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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
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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.
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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
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
Which of the Duties of Directors are Fiduciary?
Principal Advisor
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Coherence in Australian Private Law: A Review of the High Court's Approach
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ross Grantham
Media
Enquiries
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