Book Reviews

Goff And Jones On Unjust Enrichment

Tenth edition

Edited by Charles Mitchell KC, Paul Mitchell, and Stephen Watterson

ISBN 978 0 41410 191 3

SWEET AND MAXWELL/ THOMSON REUTERS

The Common Law Library www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk the identification and valuation of enrichment and explains how these apply to claims for different types of benefit. Also, they consider the requirement that a Defendant’s gain has been acquired at the Claimant’s expense. Thank you, Sweet and Maxwell, you make our lives so much easier with these publications.

This book is frequently cited in courts throughout the Commonwealth, and it continues “to signpost future developments in the field of restitution”.

For practitioners, general features included here are an analysis and explanation of the theory, principles, and practical application of unjust enrichment. The intention of the writers is to show how the rules are applied by the courts through detailed discussion of caselaw.

The new edition is organised to meet the precepts established by the senior appeal courts. It examines in turn the following: when claims are barred because the Defendant’s enrichment is justified by a legal ground; when a Defendant is enriched; when the enrichment is acquired at a Claimant’s expense; when the enrichment is unjust, what defences may be available, and what remedies (nearly always very low) may be awarded by the courts.

What we get as practitioners and academics with this book is a combination of lucid explanations – the hallmark of the Sweet and Maxwell Common Law Library - together with the theoretical concepts and excellent practical advice about pleadings. The work remains heavily relied on by practitioners today and is frequently cited in court, written by a well-known and highly regarded team of subject experts which is the house-style of Sweet and Maxwell.

The new hardback edition of “Goff and Jones” was published by Sweet and Maxwell for the Common Law Library on 16th December 2022.

Mann And Proctor On The Law Of Money

Eighth Edition

By Charles Proctor

ISBN 978 0 19880 492 5

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS www.oup.com

GROWING INTEREST IN THIS ELEMENT OF GREED WITH THE NEW TENTH EDITION OF “GOFF AND JONES”

What a book! “Goff and Jones on Unjust Enrichment”, now in its tenth edition, remains the leading work on the law of unjust enrichment. Successive editions have played a major role in establishing the central importance of the subject for private and commercial lawyers and developing its key concepts and principles. We now have this latest offering from editors Charles Mitchell KC, Paul Mitchell, and Stephen Watterson.

The text is comprehensive in coverage and written by highly respected scholars who explain all of the rules governing claims in unjust enrichment (sometimes known as restitution). They discuss how these rules have been applied through a detailed examination of major case-law authorities.

The new 10th edition is completely up-todate and contains detailed discussion of important decisions since the last edition. Several chapters have been wholly or substantially rewritten to take account of significant new cases, and their impact on topics including the recovery of benefits from remote recipients. It looks at the recovery of benefits transferred on a condition that fails, the recovery of “ultra vires” (beyond the powers) payments by public bodies and discusses the limitation rules governing claims in unjust enrichment and interest awards on such claims.

The 10th edition deals with six key matters in relation to making a claim. For legal advisers it explains how a claim in unjust enrichment can be precluded where the Defendant’s enrichment is mandated by a statute, judgment, natural obligation, or contract.

The editors analyse the principles governing

FILTHY LUCRE REVISITED!

What a book for bankers! “Mann and Proctor on the Law of Money” has been with us for a long time, being first published in 1939, and now appearing as the eighth edition from Charles Proctor. We are most grateful to Oxford University Press for continuing to publish this work as it has a special standing in monetary law for both lawyers and economists.

The title remains the premier work on monetary law obligations and monetary conduct now for the eighth edition in 2023. It’s the only comprehensive treatment of both public and private law of money from English, European, and international law perspectives, providing a single source dealing with all issues relating to monetary law. We believe it will be of interest to both experienced lawyers and those new to monetary policy for its fresh insights on money.

The book reviews current and controversial legal matters in detail. It includes a formidable analysis of the issues which arose from the shameful financial crisis, such as the legal aspects of quantitative easing which remains a hot topic of fiscal controversy- how we would all love to print as much money as possible to get ourselves out of debt (by increasing it). It is a carefully structured book examining all the main topic areas, permitting advisers to obtain direct access to sections which will be relevant to their interests and the problems of their clients.

Charles Proctor has included some useful information for the practitioner here with the eighth edition. He has updated the material to explain most recent developments in the law of money, such as the award of interest by way of damages following the decision in Sempra Metals as just one example of many detailed caselaw authorities.

Practitioners are also given an excellent analysis of the consequences of Brexit for monetary law which educates rather than pontificates on this generational change in the UK’s position within the global community. We found that there is a useful discussion of the impact of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin on the definition of ‘money’- currently a controversial area for many economists.

The book also considers ‘currency wars’, and a further analysis of legal restrictions against the manipulation of the international monetary system. It offers coverage of issues concerning central banking with significant updates on both the continuing role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB) in relation to the Greek crisis. There is a most useful examination of the monetary law consequences of hyperinflation in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia).

The new hardback eighth edition was published by Oxford University Press on 13th January 2023

The Art And Craft Of Judgment Writing

A Primer for Common Law Judges

By Max Barrett

ISBN 978 1 78742 857 7

GLOBE LAW AND BUSINESS www.globelawandbusiness.com the USA, UK and the wider common law world covering Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, Israel, and New Zealand. The book is written not from the perspective of what the Judge Barrett can teach but with the aim of “identifying essential elements of good judgment-writing in great judgments and insightful commentary”. And he does it brilliantly.

The author is Dr Max Barrett, who is a judge of the High Court of Ireland. The work contains individual chapters which focus on subjects such as judgment purpose, length, style, and structure, concurring and dissenting judgments, judgment-writing for children and vulnerable parties, as well as more general lessons in good writing offered by great authors from George Orwell (UK) to Mark Twain (USA).

Among the primers gleaned from great common law judges are these: a good judgment possesses an ability to rise above immediate facts and to see a problem in its wider perspective; a sense of empathy/ sympathy for those faring badly is always important, and that there is nothing wrong with language that is occasionally flowery and ornate. Although we are rightly advised that the best judgments are “crisp and persuasive”, and generally they are.

WE ALL KNOW WHICH JUDGES SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!

The title of this excellent book from Globe is “The Art and Craft of Judgment Writing”, with the subtitle “A Primer for Common Law Judges”- and it is just that! The author is a Irish judge called Max Barrett. All the usual judicial suspects are present in the book including my favourites, Lords Denning, and Reid. If you have ever wondered how judgments materialize, then this is the book for you.

As the author says, judges are increasingly aware that the best way of enhancing public confidence in court systems is not only by providing a quality service but doing so compassionately and respectfully. And the Lord Chief Justice has just reminded the judiciary of this approach!

For the twenty-first century, the art and craft of judgment-writing is a critical element of this process. This title from Globe Law reviews the judgments of historically great judgment-writers from across the world:

Celebrated authors such Twain suggest these tips: every element of a judgment should be necessary to that judgment and any unnecessary element excised; any person or event included in a judgment should be included for a reason, and that a judge should always use the right word for what she wants to state, ‘not its second cousin’.

Globe Law and Business notes that the book is “intended for novice superior court judges, their more seasoned colleagues and all with an interest in legal writing (including legal practitioners, law teachers and law students)”.

In the lower courts where cases start, the judiciary are required to write judgments which are not necessarily in the law reports but the judges should find the book of great value. And, as our colleagues agree, judges at all court levels should find the additional chapter on ex tempore judgments of help.

The new hardback edition was published by Globe Law and Business on 15th May 2022.