BCL/MJur
HT 2001
Gerhard
Dannemann
No previous knowledge of German law, or any knowledge of German language, will be required. While all teaching on the course is comparative, it will focus more on German than on English law, thus presupposing some knowledge of the Common Law of contract and torts. MJur students in particular are encouraged to familiarise themselves with English contract and tort law either by taking the appropriate undergraduate subjects, or by reading some essential literature which is indicated below.
There will be eight two-hour seminars during Hilary Term, which include one guest lecture by Professor Peter Schlechtriem. In addition, a minimum of three tutorials in total will be given during Hilary and Trinity Term. All teaching on this course is interactive, and students are encouraged to contribute their experience with their own legal systems.
2.Formation and Policing of Contracts
3.Irregularities of Performance and Remedies
4.Developments in the Law of Obligations in Germany and Europe
5.General Approaches Towards Tort Law: Fault, Illegality, Protected Interests, Duties of Care
8.The Contract/Tort Divide and Negligently Inflicted Economic Loss
(This
outline is tentative; the final course outline may vary.)
Other reading includes:
C von Bar, The Common
European Law of Torts, Vol. I (1999), Vol. II (2000)
J Beatson and D Friedmann,
Good Faith and Fault in Contract Law (1995), in particular chs.
7, 14
G Dannemann, An Introduction
to German Civil and Commercial Law (1993)
German Law Archive, http://iuscomp.org/gla
W van Gerven, J Lever,
P Larouche, C von Bar and G Viney, Torts: Scope of Protection (1998)
S Goren, The German
Civil Code, 2nd ed. (1994) (translation)
N Horn, H Kötz
and H Leser, German Private and Commercial Law (1982)
H Kötz, European
Contract Law, Vol. I (1998)
P Marsh, Comparative
Contract Law: England, France, Germany (1994)
E McKendrick, Contract
Law, 3rd ed. (1997)
A. Mullis and K. Oliphant,
Torts, 2nd ed. (1997)
Principles of European
Contract Law, Part I and II,
ed. by O Lando and H Beale (1999)
Principles of International
Commercial Contracts, UNIDROIT
(1994)
GH Treitel, The Law
of Contract, 10th ed. (1999)
GH Treitel, Remedies
for Breach of Contract: A Comparative Account (1988)
K Zweigert and H Kötz,
An Introduction to Comparative Law, 3rd ed. (1998)
*
MLD ch. 1
Kötz
ch. 1
*
Zweigert and Kötz pp. 132-156, 180-217, 256-275
Students who are less
familiar with English law should also read McKendrick pp. 1-12. Newcomers
to German law might first want to read Dannemann, Introduction, pp. 1-7
for an overview.
Topics include:
Common Law and Civil
Law
The German Civil Code
General Approaches Towards
Contract Law
* MLD ch. 2 and 3, including
cases 1-37
Principles of European
Contract Law ch. 2 and 4
*
Zweigert and Kötz pp. 323-430; 456-469
Statute: BGB §§
116-157, parts of which are available at:
http://iuscomp.org/gla/statutes/BGBrest.htm
Students who are less
familiar with English law should also read McKendrick pp. 15-119 and 286-306.
Newcomers to German law might first want to read Dannemann pp. 11-27 for
an overview.
Topics include:
Offer and acceptance
Contractual intention
BGH 17.4.1986, BGHZ
97, 372 = MLD case 31
BGH 7.6.1984, BGHZ 91,
324 = MLD case 34
Balfour v Balfour
[1919] 2 KB 571 (CA)
Edwards v Skyways
Ltd [1964] 1 WLR 349 (QBD)
Communication and withdrawal
RG 12.7.1922, RGZ 105,
256 = MLD case 8
BGH 3.11.1976, BGHZ
67, 275 = MLD case 9
RG 8.2.1902, RGZ 50,
191 = MLD case 10
BGH 8.4.1957, NJW 1957,
1105 = MLD case 11
Byrne and Co. v
Leon van Tienhoven & Co.
(1880) 5 CPD 344
"Battle of the Forms"
BGH 20.3.1985, NJW 1985,
1838 = MLD case 16
British
Road Services Ltd v Arthur V Crutchley & Co
[1968] 1 All ER 811 (CA)
Butler Machine Tool
Co. v Ex-Cel-O Corpn [1979]
1 W.L.R. 401, 1 All E.R. 965 (CA)
Form requirements and
consideration
RG 21.5.1927, RGZ 117,
121 = MLD case 26
BGH 21.4.1972, NJW 1972,
1189 = MLD case 27
Wakeham
v Mackenzie
[1968] 1 WLR 1175 (ChD)
Williams v Roffey
Bros & Nicholls (Contractors) Ltd
[1991] 1 QB 1 (CA)
Pre-contractual liability
MLD cases 19, 20, 112,
126
Box v Midland Bank
[1979] 2 Lloyds Rep 391 (QBD)
Walton Stores (Interstate)
Ltd v Maher (1988) 164
CLR 387 (HC Austr.)
Way v Latilla
[1937] 3 All ER 759 (HL)
Brewer Street Investments
Ltd v Barclays Woollen Co. Ltd [1954]
1 QB 428 (CA)
Illegality and immorality
Tinsley v Milligan
[1994] 1 AC 340 (HL)
One-sided illegality
BGH 22.9.1983, NJW 1984,
230 = MLD case 29
St John Shipping
Corp. v Joseph Rank Ltd [1957]
1 QB 267 (QBD)
Two-sided illegality
BGH 31.1.1990, BGHZ
111, 308 = MLD case 136
Re Mahmoud and Ispahani
[1921] 2 KB 716 (CA)
Contracts facilitating
prostitution
BGH 17.4.1970, NJW 1970,
1179 = MLD case 30
Pearce v Brookes
(1866) LR 1 Ex 213
Children and parental
rights
BGH 17.4.1986, BGHZ
97, 372 = MLD case 31
A. v C. [1985]
FLR 445 (CA)
Contracts to prevent
prosecution
BGH 7.6.1988 NJW 1988,
2599 = MLD case 32
BGH 23.2.1990, BB 1990,
735 = MLD case 132
Williams v Bayley
(1866) 1 LR HL 200
* MLD ch. 6-8, including
cases 67-129
Principles of European
Contract Law ch. 8 and 9
Treitel, Remedies for
Breach of Contract
*
Zweigert and Kötz pp. 470-536
Statute: §§
241-361 BGB
Students who are less
familiar with English law should also read McKendrick pp. 255-306 and 341-354.
Newcomers to German law might first want to read Dannemann pp. 27-32 for
an overview.
Topics include:
Impossibility in German
law and English law equivalents
OLG
Hamburg 31.1.1910, Seuff. Arch.
65, 160 = MLD case 67
RG 27.2.1912, RGZ 78,
427 = MLD case 68
RG 3.2.1914, RGZ 84,
125 = MLD case 69
BGH 30.11.1972, BGHZ
60, 14 = MLD case 72
RG 10.2.1917, RGZ 89,
203 = MLD case 115
Coutourier
v Hastie (1856) 5 HLC
673 (HL)
McRae
v Commonwealth Disposals Commission
(1951) 84 CLR 377 (HC Austr.)
Sheik
Bros v Ochsner [1957] AC
136 (PC)
J
Lauritzen AS v Wijsmuller BV (The “Super Servant Two”)
[1990] 1 Lloyd's Rep 1 (CA)
Cooper
v Phibbs (1867) LR 2 HL 149
Griffith
v Brymer (1903) 19 TLR 434
(KBD)
Taylor v Caldwell
(1863) 3 B&S 826
Frustration of Contract
RG 4.5.1915, RGZ 86,
397 = MLD case 98
RG 21.9.1920, RGZ 100,
129 = MLD case 99
RG 28.11.1923, RGZ 107,
78 = MLD case 103
BGH 16.1.1953, MDR 1953,
282 = MLD case 105
BGH 14.10.1959, NJW
1959, 2203 = MLD case 108
BGH 8.2.1984, NJW 1984,
1746 = MLD case 113
BGH 14.10.1992, NJW
1993, 259 = MLD case 114
RG 10.2.1917, RGZ 89,
203 = MLD case 115
Fibrosa
Spolka Akcyjna v Fairbairn Lawson Combe Barbour Ltd
[1943] AC 32 (HL)
Krell
v Henry
[1903] 2 KB 740 (CA)
Griffith
v Brymer (1903) 19 TLR
434 (KBD)
Herne
Bay Steam Boat Co v Hutton
[1903] 2 KB 683 (CA)
Staffordshire
AHA vSouth Staffordshire Waterworks
[1978] 1 WLR 1387 (CA)
Tsakiroglou
& Co Ltd v Noblee & Thörl GmbH
[1962] AC 93 (HL)
Positive Violation of
Contractual Duty and Anticipatory Breach
RG 6.3.1903, RGZ 54,
98 = MLD case 79
Collateral damage to
other property
RG 9.7.1907, RGZ 66,
289 = MLD case 80
BGH 25.9.1968, NJW 1968,
2238 = MLD case 81
BGH 5.4.1967, BGHZ 47,
312 = MLD case 82
H. Parsons (Livestock)
Ltd v Uttley Ingham & Co. Ltd
[1978] QB 791 (CA)
Anticipatory breach
BGH 19.10.1977, NJW
1978, 260 = MLD case 83
BGH 13.11.1953, BGHZ
11, 80 = MLD case 87
Hochster
v De La Tour
(1853) 2 E & B 678
Avery v Bowden
(1855) 5 E & B 714; (1856) 6
E.&B. 953
Termination of Contract
BGH 6.10.1976, NJW 1977,
35 = MLD case 89
RG 11.4.1902, RGZ 50,
255 = MLD case 124
Behzadi
v Shaftesbury Hotels Ltd
[1992] Ch 1 (CA)
Hong
Kong Fir Shipping Co v Kawasaki Kishen Kaisha Ltd
[1962] 2 QB 26 (CA)
Cehavve
NV v Bremer Handeelsgesellschaft m.b.H (The Hansa Nord)[1976]
QB 44 (CA)
The Borderline Between
Specific Performance and Damages
BGH 10.10.1985, BGHZ
96, 111 = MLD case 118
BGH 24.3.1959, BGHZ
30, 29 = MLD case 122
Wolverhampton Corporation
v Emmons [1901] 1 QB 515 (CA)
Co-operative Insurance
Society Ltd v Argyll Stores (Holdings) Ltd
[1997] 2 WLR 898 (HL)
Harbutt's "Plasticine"
Ltd v Wayne Tank and Pump Co. Ltd
[1970] 1 QB 447 (CA)
Ruxley Electronics
and Construction Ltd v Forsyth [1996]
AC 344 (HL)
Tito v Waddell (No.
2) [1977] Ch 106
Surrey County Council
v Bredero Home Ltd [1993] 1
WLR 1361 (CA)
* Markesinis, German
Law of Torts, pp. 21-95
*
Zweigert and Kötz ch. 40 (VII.E)
van Gerven et al, Torts,
pp. 1-43
BGH 21.12.1970, BGHZ
55, 153 = GLT case 11
RG 14.1.1928, RGZ 119,
397 = GLT case 35
BGH 16.12.1958, BGHZ
29, 100 = GLT case 109
Donoghue v Stevenson
[1932] AC 562 (HL S)
Caparo
v Dickman [1989] QB 653 (CA);
[1990] 2 AC 605 (HL)
Students who are less
familiar with English law should also read Mullis and Oliphant, pp. 1-29.
Newcomers to German law might first want to read Dannemann, Introduction,
pp. 55-62 for an overview.
* Markesinis, German
Law of Torts, pp. 37-40; cases 1-3, 6-7 and notes
* Mullis and Oliphant
pp. 30-46, 86-88
Nervous shock
BGH 11.5.1971, BGHZ
56, 163 = GLT case 1
BGH 4.4.1989, NJW 1989,
2317 = GLT case 2
RG 21.9.1931, RGZ 133,
270 = GLT case 3
Bourhill
v Young [1943] AC 92, 110
(HL S)
McLoughlin
v O'Brian [1983] 1 AC 410
(HL)
Alcock
v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire
[1992] 1 AC 310 (HL)
Wrongful birth,
wrongful life
BGH 18.1.1983, BGHZ
86, 240= GLT case 6
BGH 27.11.1984, NJW
1985, 671 = GLT case 7
McKay
v Essex AHA [1982] QB 1166
(CA)
Macfarlane and Another
v. Tayside Health Board [1999]
3 WLR 1301 (HL S)
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199900/ldjudgmt/jd991125/macfar-1.htm
* Markesinis, German
Law of Torts pp. 63-68; cases 29-34 and notes
* Bagshaw, Obstacles
on the Path to Privacy Torts, in: P Birks (ed.), Privacy and Loyalty (1997),
pp. 133ss
BGH 25.5.1954, BGHZ
13, 334 = GLT case 29 =
http://iuscomp.org/gla/judgments/tgcm/z540525.htm
BGH 14.2.1958, BGHZ
26, 249 = GLT case 30 = http://iuscomp.org/gla/judgments/tgcm/z580214.htm
BGH 19.9.1961, BGHZ
35, 363 = GLT case 31 = http://iuscomp.org/gla/judgments/tgcm/z610919.htm
BGH
15.11.1994, BGHZ 128,1 = http://iuscomp.org/gla/judgments/tgcm/z941115.htm
Douglas v Hello! Ltd
(CA) http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,484-67856,00.html
http://www.lawreports.co.uk/civjan0.1.htm
Full decision through
Casetrack at:
Honoré, Causation
and Remoteness of Damage (1969), International Encyclopaedia of Comparative
Law vol. XI ch 7.
* Markesinis, German
Law of Torts pp. 95-108; cases 56-72 and notes
Jobling v Associated
Dairies [1982] AC 794 (HL)
In Re Polemis
[1921] 3 KB 560 (CA)
Foreseeability
BGH 23.10.1951, BGHZ
3, 261 = GLT case 60
Overseas Tankship
(U.K.) v Morts Dock and Engineering Co. (The Wagon Mound) [1961]
AC 388 (PC)
Jolley (A.P.) v
Sutton London Borough Council
[2000] 3 All ER 409, [2000] 1 WLR 1082 (HL)
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199900/ldjudgmt/jd000518/jolley-1.htm
Increased risk
BGH 24.4.1952, NJW 1952,
1010 = GLT case 61
Carslogie Steamship
Co. v Royal Norwegian Government [1952]
AC 292 (HL)
Scope of the rule
BGH 22.4.1958, BGHZ
27, 137 = GLT case 64
BGH 16.2.1972, BGHZ
58, 162 = GLT case 65
Gorris v Scott (1874)
LR 9 Ex 125
Close v Steel Company
of Wales [1962] AC 367
(HL)
Meah v McCreamer
(No. 2) [1986] 1 All ER 943
(QBD)
South
Australia Asset Management Corp v York Montague
[1997] AC 191 (HL)
von
Bar, Vol. I Part 5 I
BGH
29.1.1969, NJW 1969, 789 = GLT case 69
Junior
Books Ltd v Veitchi Co. Ltd
[1983] AC 520 (HL)
Leigh
and Silivan Ltd v. The Aliakmon Shipping Co
[1985] QB 350 (CA); [1986] AC 785 (HL)
White
v Jones [1995] 2 AC 207
(HL)
BGH
28.1.1976, BGHZ 66, 51 = GLT case 90
Cavalier
v. Pope [1906] AC 428
Pure
economic loss and liability for negligent misstatements
Statutory
basis: § 676 BGB
BGH
12.2.1979, NJW 1979, 1595 = GLT case 15
BGH
28.8.1982, NJW 1982, 2431 = GLT case 17
BGH
2.11.1983, NJW 1984, 355 = GLT case 18
BGH
10.11.1994, BGHZ 127, 378 = http://iuscomp.org/gla/judgments/tgcm/z941110.htm
BGH
2.4.1998, III ZR 245/96 = http://iuscomp.org/gla/judgments/tgcm/z980402.htm
BGH
26.9.2000, X ZR 94/98 = http://iuscomp.org/gd/courses/zp000926.htm
Hedley
Byrne & Co. v Heller & Partners
[1964] AC 465 (HL)
Caparo
v Dickman [1989] QB 653
(CA); [1990] 2 AC 605 (HL)
Henderson
v Merret Syndicates Ltd
[1994] 3 All ER 506 (HL)
Smith v Eric S Bush, Harris v Wyre Forste DC [1989] 2 All ER 514, [1990] 1 AC 831 (HL)
South
Australia Asset Management Corp v York Montague
[1997] AC 191 (HL)
©
2001 G. Dannemann