Book Review: 'A History of Australian Tort Law 1901-1945: England's Obedient Servant?' by Mark Lunney (Cambridge University Press, 2018)

Abstract

This book review of Mark Lunney's work emphasises the distinctively Australian law developed by local courts and local legislatures, despite the existence of a right of appeal to the Privy Council and the notion of a single common law of England. It also addresses the use of primary contemporaneous materials, including newspaper reports and judicial diaries, and the role of legal history in the principled and coherent development of the law in the 21st century.

Keywords: Australian tort law, legal history, privy council, innovation, local legislation, law in context

JEL Classification: K10, K30