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Professor Kit Barker
Professor

Kit Barker

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 334 69776

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

114 works between 1993 and 2024

101 - 114 of 114 works

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.

Bona fide purchase as a defence to unjust enrichment claims: a concise restatement

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

Review of Cornish, Nolan, O'Sullivan, Virgo (eds) Restitution, Past Present and Future (Oxford, Hart, 1998)

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.

Review of Burrows (ed) Understanding the Law of Obligation (Oxford, Hart, 1998)

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.

Equitable Title and Common Law Conversion: The Limits of Fusionist Ideal

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.

Review of Cane, P, Tort Law and Economic Interests (2nd Ed) (Oxford, Clarendon, 1996)

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.

O'Brien, Notice and the Onus of Proof

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.

Rescuing Remedialism in Unjust Enrichment Law: Why Remedies Are Right

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.

Review of Torts in the Nineties

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

NHS contracting: repercussions in the law of tort?

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

Unjust enrichment: containing the beast

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.

Review of Chitty on Contracts (27th Ed)

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

Are we up to expectations? Solicitors, beneficiaries and the tort/contract divide

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

NHS contracts, restitution and the internel market

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.

Unreliable assumptions in the modern law of negligence

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

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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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