European University Institute Library

Private wrongs, Arthur Ripstein

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

index present

non fiction

Private wrongs

bibliography

925784150

Arthur Ripstein

From the perspective of prominent positions in both moral philosophy and legal scholarship, tort law can seem baffling: people are made to pay damages when they are barely or not at fault, yet some serious harms go uncompensated. Many of these puzzles grow out of the assumption that the law's concern must either be to compensate losses or penalize misconduct. In private wrongs, Arthur Ripstein provides a philosophical and systematic account of the rights protected by tort law. The law of tort protects what people already have: their person, understood as bodily integrity and reputation, and property. Ripstein articulates the form of these rights, and provides a simple but compelling explanation of the sense in which the point of damages is to make it as if the wrong had never happened. He explains why this matters even though damages are at best an imperfect substitute and why enforcing private rights is consistent with the other activities of a liberal state without being reducible to them.--, Provided by Publisher

Introduction : retrieving the idea of a private wrong -- What you already have, Part I : your body and property -- Using what you have : misfeasance and nonfeasance -- Wrongdoing for which the offender must pay : negligence -- Use what is yours in a way that does not harm your neighbor : strict liability -- A malicious wrong in its strict legal sense : motive and intention in tort law -- What you already have, Part II : your own good name -- Remedies, Part I : as if it had never happened -- Remedies, Part II : before a court - Conclusion : horizontal and vertical