When should individuals have an entitlement to sue the state for compensation or injunction in respect of official action? Legal systems take a variety of approaches, which have been partly studied in the comparative law literature. The aim of the proposed research is to provide a general normative, philosophically-grounded, theory of state liability in respect of official action. In doing so, it will examine the nature of state wrongdoing, the different possible moral bases for liability based on wrongs and permissible conduct, the justification of immunity rules, and which institutions ought to develop state liability law.

This is a 3 year Fellowship funded by the Leverhulme Trust, beginning in October 2024.