Modified Standards of Care in Gratuitous Undertakings: Time for a Comeback?
In many jurisdictions around the world, there has been a recent trend to encourage altruistic behaviour through private law, particularly by lowering the standard of care required of those acting for the benefit of others. In the common law world, recent debates have focused mainly on two issues: the standard of care in emergency situations and the relevance of social utility in determining what counts as negligence. There is, however, a much older tradition, going back all the way to Roman law, which applied varying standards of care in gratuitous undertakings. While this idea received strong judicial and academic support in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it has since then fallen out of favour and is rarely considered today. The presentation will explore this historical development and discuss the relevance of remuneration for ascertaining the standard of care.
This event is open (only) to member of Oxford University. To register for it please fill in the form below using your SSO credentials. Registration will close at 10am on the morning of the seminar when a Teams link will be sent out.