Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This collection of essays celebrates the scholarly legacy of Professor Simon Whittaker, whose work has left a profound mark on the field of comparative law. Reflecting the breadth and depth of his influence, the book brings together leading scholars to explore central themes in private law from a comparative perspective. The first part of the book focuses on contract law, examining defects in the formation of a contract, interpretation, illegality, the doctrine of change of circumstances, and remedies. These chapters reflect Whittaker’s commitment to doctrinal precision, analytical depth, and the value of comparative law as a means of understanding other legal traditions and re-examining one’s own with a fresh perspective. The second part turns to tort law, with contributions exploring the role of violation of a right, the concept of foreseeability, the justifications for the non-recoverability of pure economic loss, and the treatment of illegality in product liability. These chapters engage critically with fundamental concepts while also offering comparative insights into the functions and structure of tort law, an approach that reflects Whittaker’s distinctive ability to draw deep connections between legal systems, both in their doctrinal rules and in the principles and goals that underpin them. The final part of the book turns to topics between and beyond contract and tort: the doctrine of the subsidiarity of unjustified enrichment and the difficulty of devising harmonized contract law in a multilingual environment in the absence of a common terminology. Taken together, the contributions included in this book highlight the distinctive blend of intellectual rigour, curiosity, and openness to both tradition and innovation, which has so distinctively characterized Simon Whittaker’s scholarship.</jats:p>