Damages without damage? ‘Abstract’ damages for breach of contract in comparative and theoretical perspective

From a comparative perspective (taking into account German and English law), this presentation will be looking at how the law deals with cases in which on a supposedly traditional understanding of ‘loss’ there is none. From a German law perspective, it will try to assess how an approach that clearly distinguishes between rights and remedies might better be able to structure the problems surrounding this issue. Out of the many questions arising at varying levels of abstraction, normative and analytical, the presentation will focus on a set grouped around the issue of how to distinguish between different ‘types’ of rights as regards their remedial protection: Are there qualitatively different rights? Are contractual rights qualitatively different from, for instance, property rights? Is having a right against another individual an independent reason for the law also granting a remedy against this other individual?

A sandwich lunch will be available from 12.30 in the area outside the IECL Teaching Room.