Obligations VIII Conference July 2016

The eighth Obligations Conference was held at Downing College Cambridge from 19th to 22nd July 2016. Organised jointly by the Cambridge Private Law Centre and Melbourne Law School the Conference provided over 170 academics, students, judges, practitioners and publishers from around the world the opportunity to come together to discuss issues relating to the law of obligations under the theme of ‘Revolutions in Private Law’.

Plenary lectures were delivered by Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill, SCJ; Professor Hector McQueen; Professor David Ibbetson; Professor Jenny Steele and Professor Hugh Collins. The Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG delivered the 2016 Cambridge Freshfields Lecture at the Cambridge Law Faculty as part of the conference programme. In addition a panel session was held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Goff and Jones on The Law of Restitution, with contributions from Sir Terence Etherton, Chancellor, Amy Goymour, Professor Else Bant, Professor Mitchell McInnes and Professor Helen Scott.

A recording of the Freshfields Lecture is available in video, audio and transcript.

During the conference 66 papers were delivered on aspects of the law of obligations, many of which considered the revolutionary theme whether in the law of tort, contract, unjust enrichment or equity and sometimes from a historical or comparative perspective.

A formal dinner was held at Trinity College as part of the conference programme, at which the guest of honour was Lord Robert Walker.

The ninth Obligations conference will be held at the University of Melbourne in July 2018.