
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
1999
Journal Article
Bona fide purchase as a defence to unjust enrichment claims: a concise restatement
Barker, Kit (1999). Bona fide purchase as a defence to unjust enrichment claims: a concise restatement. Restitution Law Review, 7, 75-91.
1999
Journal Article
Review of Cornish, Nolan, O'Sullivan, Virgo (eds) Restitution, Past Present and Future (Oxford, Hart, 1998)
Barker, Kit (1999). Review of Cornish, Nolan, O'Sullivan, Virgo (eds) Restitution, Past Present and Future (Oxford, Hart, 1998). Legal Studies, 19 (03), 415-418. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-121X.1999.tb00103.x
1999
Journal Article
Review of Burrows (ed) Understanding the Law of Obligation (Oxford, Hart, 1998)
Barker, Kit (1999). Review of Burrows (ed) Understanding the Law of Obligation (Oxford, Hart, 1998). Journal of Professional Negligence, 15, 198-203.
1998
Journal Article
Equitable Title and Common Law Conversion: The Limits of Fusionist Ideal
Barker, Kit (1998). Equitable Title and Common Law Conversion: The Limits of Fusionist Ideal. Restitution Law Review , 6, 150-156.
1998
Journal Article
Review of Cane, P, Tort Law and Economic Interests (2nd Ed) (Oxford, Clarendon, 1996)
Barker, Kit (1998). Review of Cane, P, Tort Law and Economic Interests (2nd Ed) (Oxford, Clarendon, 1996). Consumer law journal, 6, 119-121.
1998
Book Chapter
O'Brien, Notice and the Onus of Proof
Kit Barker (1998). O'Brien, Notice and the Onus of Proof. Restitution and Banking Law. (pp. 78-88) edited by Rose. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
1998
Journal Article
Rescuing Remedialism in Unjust Enrichment Law: Why Remedies Are Right
Kit Barker (1998). Rescuing Remedialism in Unjust Enrichment Law: Why Remedies Are Right. Cambridge Law Journal, 57, 301-327.
1998
Journal Article
Review of Torts in the Nineties
Barker, Kit (1998). Review of Torts in the Nineties. Modern Law Review, 61 (4), 589-591.
1995
Journal Article
NHS contracting: repercussions in the law of tort?
Barker, Kit (1995). NHS contracting: repercussions in the law of tort?. Medical Law Review, 3 (2), 161-176. doi: 10.1093/medlaw/3.2.161
1995
Journal Article
Unjust enrichment: containing the beast
Barker, Kit (1995). Unjust enrichment: containing the beast. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 15 (3), 457-475. doi: 10.1093/ojls/15.3.403
1994
Journal Article
Review of Chitty on Contracts (27th Ed)
Barker, Kit (1994). Review of Chitty on Contracts (27th Ed). Restitution Law Review, 290-291.
1994
Journal Article
Are we up to expectations? Solicitors, beneficiaries and the tort/contract divide
Barker, Kit (1994). Are we up to expectations? Solicitors, beneficiaries and the tort/contract divide. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 14 (1), 137-150. doi: 10.1093/ojls/14.1.137
1993
Journal Article
NHS contracts, restitution and the internel market
Barker, Kit (1993). NHS contracts, restitution and the internel market. Modern Law Review, 56 (6), 832-843. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2230.1993.tb01909.x
1993
Journal Article
Unreliable assumptions in the modern law of negligence
Barker, Kit (1993). Unreliable assumptions in the modern law of negligence. Law Quarterly Review, 109 (3), 461-484.
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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