Professor Kit Barker
Professor
TC Beirne School of Law
+61 7 334 67609
W254 Forgan Smith Building, St Lucia campus.
Featured publications
Apportionment in Private Law. Edited by Kit Barker and Ross Grantham Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing, 2018.
Private law and power. Edited by Kit Barker, Simone Degeling, Karen Fairweather and Ross Grantham Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing, 2017.
Unjust enrichment. Barker, Kit and Grantham, Ross Unjust enrichment 2nd ed. Chatswood, NSW, Australia: LexisNexis Butterworths, 2017.
Private Law in the Twenty-First Century. Edited by Kit Barker, Karen Fairweather and Ross B. Grantham United Kingdom: Hart Publishing, 2016.
The Law of Misstatements: 50 Years on from Hedley Byrne v Heller. 1st ed. Edited by Kit Barker, Ross B. Grantham and Warren Swain Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2015.
Private law: key encounters with public law. Edited by Kit Barker and Darryn Jensen Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2013. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139856478
Researcher biography
Kit Barker joined the TC Beirne School of Law in 2006. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford, where he graduated with first class honours (in 1988) and subsequently completed the BCL (with distinction) in 1991. He was admitted to the Middle Temple Inn of Court as a Harmsworth Scholar and to the Bar of England and Wales in 1990. He is interested in private law as a whole, but specialises in the law of torts and unjust enrichment law and the law's doctrine, philosophical foundations and remedies. More recently, his work has explored the interface between private law and public law and public policy, with a focus on the tortious liability of government, misfeasance in public office and the use of private enforcement techniques in public law. He is a former Associate Dean (Research) at the TC Beirne School of Law and an assistant editor of the Torts Law Journal. He is co-author of three books - Unjust Enrichment (3rd ed, Sydney, Lexis Nexis, Butterworths, 2024, 1st ed, 2008), The Law of Torts in Australia (5th ed, 2011, OUP) and Remedies: Commentary and Materials (Thomson, 2015). He is also an editor and contributor to six essay collections: Life and Death in Private Law (Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2024), Private Law: Key Encounters with Public Law (Cambridge University Press, 2013), The Law of Misstatements (Hart Publishing, 2015); Private Law and Power (Hart Publishing, 2017) ; Private Law in the Twenty-First Century (Hart Publishing, 2017); Apportionment in Private Law (Hart Publishing, 2018) and the Research Handbook on Unjust Enrichment and Restitution (Edward Elgar, 2020).
He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and current director of the Australian Centre of Private Law at the TC Beirne School of Law.
| Featured projects | Duration |
|---|---|
| Designing Reparation: Lessons from Private Law |
Publications
Books
Normann Witzleb, Elise Bant, Simone Degeling and Kit Barker (2020). Remedies: commentary and materials. 7th ed. Sydney: Thomson Reuters.
Barker, Kit and Grantham, Ross (2017). Unjust enrichment. 2nd ed. Chatswood, NSW, Australia: LexisNexis Butterworths.
Barker, Kit, Cane, Peter, Lunney, Mark and Trindade, Francis (2012). The law of torts in Australia. 5th ed. Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.
Barker, Kit and Grantham, Ross (2008). Unjust enrichment. Sydney, NSW, Australia: LexisNexis Butterworths.
Book Chapters
Barker, Kit (2023). Lamb v Cotogno (1987): insured punishment. Landmark cases in the law of punitive damages. (pp. 99-128) edited by James Goudkamp and Eleni Katsampouka. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.
Barker, Kit (2021). Punishment in private law - no such thing (any more). Punishment and private law . (pp. 35-62) edited by Elise Bant, Wayne Courtney, James Goudkamp and Jeannie Marie Paterson. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing . doi: 10.5040/9781509939183.ch-002
Bant, Elise , Barker, Kit and Degeling, Simone (2020). The evolution of unjust enrichment law: theory and practice. Research handbook on unjust enrichment and restitution. (pp. 2-27) edited by Elise Bant, Kit Barker and Simone Degeling. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar. doi: 10.4337/9781788114264.00007
Barker, Kit (2019). Apportionment in private law: nothing, all, or something in between?. Apportionment in Private Law. (pp. 3-34) edited by Kit Barker and Ross Grantham. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.
Barker, Kit (2019). Form and substance: three observations on the state of debate. Form and substance in the law of obligations. (pp. 433-443) edited by Andrew Robertson and James Goudkamp. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.
Degeling, Simone and Barker, Kit (2017). Designing Reparation: Lessons from Private Law. New Directions for Law in Australia: Essays in Contemporary Law Reform. (pp. 321-328) edited by Ron Levy, Molly O'Brien, Simon Rice, Pauline Ridge and Margaret Thornton. ACT, Canberra: ANU Press. doi: 10.22459/NDLA.09.2017.29
Barker, Kit (2017). Private law as a complex system: agendas for the twenty-first century. Private law in the 21st century. (pp. 3-28) edited by Kit Barker, Karen Fairweather and Ross Grantham. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing. doi: 10.5040/9781509908615.ch-001
Barker, Kit (2017). What Is a contractual defence (and does it matter)?. Defences in contract. (pp. 17-41) edited by Andrew Dyson, James Goudkamp and Frederick Wilmot-Smith. Portland, USA: Hart Publishing. doi: 10.5040/9781509902156.ch-002
Barker, Kit (2017). Public power, discretion and the duty of care. Private law and power. (pp. 207-237) edited by Kit Barker, Simone Degeling, Karen Fairweather and Ross B. Grantham. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart.
Barker, Kit (2017). The dynamics of private law and power. Private law and power. (pp. 3-28) edited by Kit Barker, Simone Degeling, Karen Fairweather and Ross B. Grantham. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart.
Barker, Kit (2015). Negligent Misstatement in Australia - Resolving The Uncertain Legacy of Esanda. The Law of Misstatements: 50 Years on from Hedley Byrne v Heller. (pp. 319-344) edited by Barker, Kit, Grantham, Ross and Swain, Warren. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.
Barker, Kit (2015). Hedley Byrne v Heller: Issues for the Beginning of the Twenty First Century. The Law of Misstatements: 50 Years on from Hedley Byrne v Heller. (pp. 3-26) edited by Kit Barker, Ross B. Grantham and Warren Swain. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.
Barker, Kit (2015). Specific relief - general principles and specific performance. Remedies: commentary and materials. (pp. 909-1020) edited by Kit Barker, Elise Bant, Simone Degeling and Normann Witzleb. Pyrmont, NSW, Australia: Thomson Reuters.
Barker, Kit, Bant, Elise, Degeling, Simone and Witzleb, Normann (2015). The nature of remedies. Remedies: commentary and materials. (pp. 1-34) edited by Kit Barker, Elise Bant, Simone Degeling and Normann Witzleb. Pyrmont, NSW, Australia: Thomson Reuters.
Barker, Kit (2015). Injunctions. Remedies: commentary and materials. (pp. 1021-1136) edited by Kit Barker, Elise Bant, Simone Degeling and Normann Witzleb. Pyrmont, NSW, Australia: Thomson Reuters.
Barker, Kit (2013). Private and public: the mixed concept of vindication in torts and private law. Tort law: challenging orthodoxy. (pp. 59-93) edited by Stephen G. A. Pitel, Jason W. Neyers and Erika Chamberlain. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.
Barker, Kit (2013). Private law: key encounters with public law. Private law: key encounters with public law. (pp. 3-42) edited by Kit Barker and Darryn Jensen. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9781139856478.003
Barker, Kit (2012). Damages. The law of torts in Australia. (pp. 692-750) edited by Kit Barker, Peter Cane, Mark Lunney and Francis Trinidade. South Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Oxford University Press.
Barker, Kit (2012). Nuisance. The law of torts in Australia. (pp. 183-227) edited by Kit Barker, Peter Cane, Mark Lunney and Francis Trinidade. South Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Oxford University Press.
Barker, Kit (2012). Interference with pure economic interests. The Law of Torts in Australia. (pp. 227-302) edited by Kit Barker, Peter Cane, Mark Lunney and Francis Trinidade. South Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Oxford University Press.
Barker, Kit (2012). Defamation and invasion of privacy. The Law of Torts in Australia. (pp. 303-416) edited by Kit Barker, Peter Cane, Mark Lunney and Francis Trinidade. South Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Oxford University Press.
Barker, Kit (2011). Multiple tortfeasors: Liability and contribution. The law of torts in Australia. (pp. 793-814) edited by Kit Barker, Peter Cane, Mark Lunney and Francis Trinidade. South Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Oxford University Press.
Barker, Kit (2011). Relational economic loss - The search for rational limits. Torts in commercial law. (pp. 163-194) edited by Simone Degeling, James Edelman and James Goudcamp. Rozelle, N.S.W., Australia: Thomson Reuters.
Barker, Kit (2009). The nature of responsibility for gain: Gain, harm and keeping the lid on pandora's box. The Philosophical Foundations of the Law of Unjust Enrichment. (pp. 146-180) edited by R. Chambers, C. Mitchell and J. Penner. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567751.003.0006
Barker, Kit (2008). Economic loss and the duty of care: A study in the exercise of legal justification. Justifying private law remedies. (pp. 173-201) edited by C. Rickett. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.
Barker, K. (2008). Responsibility for gain: Unjust factors or absence of legal ground? Starting points in unjust enrichment law. Structure and justification in private law : Essays for Peter Birks. (pp. 47-74) edited by Charles Rickett and Ross Grantham. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.
Barker, Christopher Douglas (2004). Understanding the Unjust Enrichment Principle in Private Law: A Study of the Concept and Its Reasons. Understanding Unjust Enrichment. (pp. 79-110) edited by Jason W. Neyers, Mitchell McInnes and Stephen G.A. Pitel. Oxford: Hart Publishing.
Kit Barker and L. Smith (2000). Unjust Enrichment. Law's Futures. (pp. 411-432) edited by Hayton. Oxford: Hart Publishing.
Kit Barker (1998). O'Brien, Notice and the Onus of Proof. Restitution and Banking Law. (pp. 78-88) edited by Rose. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Journal Articles
Barker, Kit and Kretowicz, Anna (2024). Unjust enrichment in Australia 2024. Llloyds Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, 2024 (May), 302-350.
Barker, Kit and Bristow, Penelope (2023). Unjust enrichment in Australia 2023. Lloyds Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, 2023 (1), 130-170.
Barker, Kit, Bristow, Penelope and Walpole, Samuel (2022). Unjust enrichment in Australia 2022. Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, 2022 (2), 289-312.
Barker, Kit and Lamont, Katelyn (2021). Misfeasance in public office: raw statistics from the Australian front line. The Sydney Law Review, 43 (3), 315-347.
Barker, Kit and Lamont, Katelyn (2021). Misfeasance in public office: raw statistics from the Australian front line. Sydney Law Review, 43 (3), 315-348.
Walpole, Samuel and Barker, Kit (2021). Unjust enrichment in Australia 2021. Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, 2021, 179-204.
Barker, Kit (2020). Unjust enrichment in Australia - What is(n't) it ? Implications for legal reasoning and practice. Melbourne University Law Review, 2020 (43), 903-936.
Walpole, Samuel and Barker, Kit (2020). Unjust enrichment in Australia. Lloyds Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, 2020, 311-343.
Barker, Kit and Walpole, Samuel (2018). Restitution Regional Digest – Australia 2017-18. Restitution Law Review, 26, 85-121.
Barker, Kit (2018). Modelling public and private enforcement: the rationality of hybridity. University of Queensland Law Journal, 37 (1), 9-23.
Barker, Kit (2018). Private Law, Analytical Philosophy and the Modern Value of Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld: A Centennial Appraisal. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 38 (3), 585-612. doi: 10.1093/OJLS/GQY021
Bell-James, Justine and Barker, Kit (2016). Public authority liability for negligence in the Post-Ipp era: sceptical reflections on the 'policy defence'. Melbourne University Law Review, 40 (1), 1-45.
Barker, Kit and Walpole, Samuel (2016). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2016. Restitution Law Review, 24, 185-211.
Barker, Kit and Steele, Jenny (2015). Drifting towards proportionate liability: ethics and pragmatics. Cambridge Law Journal, 74 (1), 49-77. doi: 10.1017/S0008197314001135
Barker, Kit and Tait, Harrison (2015). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2015. Restitution Law Review, 23, 141-169.
Degeling, Simone and Barker, Kit (2015). Private law and grave historical injustice: the role of private law. Monash University Law Review, 41 (2), 377-413.
Barker, Kit (2014). Damages without loss: can Hohfeld help?. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 34 (4), 631-658. doi: 10.1093/ojls/gqu012
Barker, Kit (2014). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2014. Restitution Law Review, 22, 128-154.
Barker, Kit (2013). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2013. Restitution Law Review, 21, 112-139.
Barker, Kit (2013). Centripetal force: the restatement of unjust enrichment in England and Wales. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 34 (1) gqt027, 1-25. doi: 10.1093/ojls/gqt027
Barker, Kit (2012). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2012. Restitution Law Review, 20, 140-164.
Barker, Kit (2011). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2011. Restitution Law Review, 19, 167-187.
Barker, Kit (2010). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2010. Restitution Law Review, 18, 95-117.
Barker, Kit (2010). Australia. Restitution Law Review, 18, 95-117.
Barker, Kit (2009). Review of The law of rescission. Law Quarterly Review, 125, 175-177.
Barker, Kit (2009). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia. Restitution Law Review, 17, 147-173.
Barker, Kit (2008). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia 2008. Restitution Law Review, 16 (1), 141-160.
Barker, Kit (2007). Equity in Commerical Law by Simone Degeling and James Edelman (eds). The Modern Law Review, 70 (1), 163-167. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2230.2006.00631_1.x
Barker, Kit (2007). Restitution Regional Digest - Australia. Restitution Law Review, 15, 150-170.
Barker, C D (2006). Theorising unjust enrichment : Being realist(ic)?. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 26 (3), 609-626. doi: 10.1093/ojls/gql021
Barker, Kit (2006). Wielding Occam’s razor: Pruning strategies for economic loss. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 26 (2), 289-302. doi: 10.1093/ojls/gql004
Barker, Kit (2005). Unfamiliar waters: Negligent advocates, egregious errors and lost chances of acquittal. University of Queensland Law Journal, 24 (2), 467-477.
Barker, Kit (2004). Review of S. Degeling, Restitutionary Rights to Share in Damages (Cambridge, 2003). Law Quarterly Review, 120, 351-354.
Burrows, A., Barker, K. and Swadling, W. (2004). The new Birksian approach to unjust enrichment. Restitution Law Review, 12, 260-265.
Barker, K. (2003). Coping with failure: Re-appraising pre-contractual remuneration. Journal of Contract Law, 19 (2), 105-133.
Barker, Kit (2001). Riddles, remedies and restitution: quantifying gain in unjust enrichment law. Current Legal Problems, 54 (1), 255-305. doi: 10.1093/clp/54.1.255
Barker, Kit (2001). Review of P. Jaffey, The Nature and Scope of the Law of Restitution. Restitution Law Review, 232-239.
Barker, Kit (1999). Bona fide purchase as a defence to unjust enrichment claims: a concise restatement. Restitution Law Review, 7, 75-91.
Barker, Kit (1999). Review of Burrows (ed) Understanding the Law of Obligation (Oxford, Hart, 1998). Journal of Professional Negligence, 15, 198-203.
Barker, Kit (1999). Review of Cornish, Nolan, O'Sullivan, Virgo (eds) Restitution, Past Present and Future (Oxford, Hart, 1998). Legal Studies, 19 (03), 415-418. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-121X.1999.tb00103.x
Barker, Kit (1998). Equitable Title and Common Law Conversion: The Limits of Fusionist Ideal. Restitution Law Review , 6, 150-156.
Barker, Kit (1998). Review of Cane, P, Tort Law and Economic Interests (2nd Ed) (Oxford, Clarendon, 1996). Consumer law journal, 6, 119-121.
Kit Barker (1998). Rescuing Remedialism in Unjust Enrichment Law: Why Remedies Are Right. Cambridge Law Journal, 57, 301-327.
Barker, Kit (1998). Review of Torts in the Nineties. Modern Law Review, 61 (4), 589-591.
Barker, Kit (1995). NHS contracting: repercussions in the law of tort?. Medical Law Review, 3 (2), 161-176. doi: 10.1093/medlaw/3.2.161
Barker, Kit (1995). Unjust enrichment: containing the beast. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 15 (3), 457-475. doi: 10.1093/ojls/15.3.403
Barker, Kit (1994). Are we up to expectations? Solicitors, beneficiaries and the tort/contract divide. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 14 (1), 137-150. doi: 10.1093/ojls/14.1.137
Barker, Kit (1994). Review of Chitty on Contracts (27th Ed). Restitution Law Review, 290-291.
Barker, Kit (1993). NHS contracts, restitution and the internel market. Modern Law Review, 56 (6), 832-843. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2230.1993.tb01909.x
Barker, Kit (1993). Unreliable assumptions in the modern law of negligence. Law Quarterly Review, 109 (3), 461-484.
Conference Papers
Barker, Kit (2024). Suicide and the State: a Duty of Care? Reconsidering Stuart v Kirkland-Veenstra. Tort Law and Compensation Systems, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 15-16 February 2024.
Barker, Kit (2022). Insured punishment - the awkward case of Lamb v Cotogno. Landmark Cases in the Law of Punitive Damages, Oxford, United Kingdom, 30 Sept, 6-7 Oct 2022.
Barker, Kit (2021). Rights of action in private and public law: the analytics of enforcement. *, *, *. McGill University.
Barker, Kit (2020). Unjust Enrichment in Australia- What Is(n't) it ? . Melbourne University Obligations Discussion Group - Unjust Enrichment and Restitution, Melbourne/Zoom, 3-4 December 2020.
Barker, Kit (2019). Unjust Enrichment in Australia. Current Legal Issues Seminar Series, Brisbane, Australia, 13 June 2019.
Barker, Kit (2019). Unjust Enrichment - Implications for Legal Reasoning and Practice. King and Wood Mallesons Continuing Legal Education Programme, King and Wood Mallesons, Brisbane, 9 May 2019.
Barker, Kit (2018). The very modern value of Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld: a centennial appraisal. Singapore Symposium in Legal Theory 2018, Singapore, Singapore, 5 February 2018.
Barker, Kit (2017). Causation and loss of chance: a commentary. Causation and Loss of Opportunity, Brisbane, Australia, 27 July 2017.
Barker, Kit (2016). Analytical Philosophy and Private Law: The Modern Value of Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld. A Discourse on the Legal Method: Historical and Philosophical Influences on Legal Thinking', Moscow, Russia, 22-25 June 2016.
Barker, Kit (2016). Discretionary power and the law of negligence - public power, private duty. Visitor Seminar Series, Sheffield, United Kingdom, 5 July 2016.
Barker, Kit and Jenny Steele (2014). Drifting Towards Proportionate Liability - Ethics and Pragmatics. Obligations VII, Hong Kong, 15th-18th July.
Barker, Kit and Simone Degeling (2014). Grave Historical Injustice: The Role of the Common Law. Obligations VII, Hong Kong, 15th-18th July.
Seminar Papers
Barker, Kit (2023). Suicide, madness, and the State - the tale from tort. Life and Death in Private Law 2.0. TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland.
Barker, Kit (2021). Rights of action in public and private law: further insights from Hohfeld. ANU Law and Philosophy Forum. T.C. Beirne School of Law, Australian National University.
Barker, Kit (2016). Discretionary Power and the Law of Negligence - Public Power, Private Duty. Visitor Seminar Series. Sheffield University.
Kit Barker (2016). Discretionary Power and the Law of Negligence - Public Power, Private Duty. Visitor Seminar Series. Sheffield University.
Barker, Kit (2016). Public Body Liability in the Wake of Ipp - Confusion Confounded. Bar Association of Queensland Annual Conference. Sofitel, Brisbane.
Barker, Kit (2016). The Concept of a Contractual Defence - A Historical Analysis from Ballow to Anson. Defences in Contract Law. All Souls College, University of Oxford.
Barker, Kit (2015). Public Authority Liability for Negligence in the Post-Ipp Era - Sceptical Reflections on the 'Policy Defence'. Private Law in the C21st. Brisbane, Australia.
Barker, Kit (2014). Concepts of Vindication. UNSW Private Law and Legal Theory Group. Sydney, Australia.
Barker, Kit (2014). The Puzzle of User Fee Damages - A Hohfeldian Analysis. UNSW Private Law Group. Sydney, Australia.