Philosophical Foundations of the Law of Unjust Enrichment

Abstract

Abstract This book's chapters are devoted to the philosophical foundations of one of the most dynamic areas of private law — the law of unjust enrichment. Taking stock of the rapid changes to the law of unjust enrichment over the last decade, some of the most important writers in the area examine central questions raised by demarcating unjust enrichment as a separate area of private law, including how its normative foundations relate to those of other areas of private law, how the concept of enrichment relates to the concept of property, how the obligation to make restitution relates to other private law obligations, how the remedy of restitution relates to principles of corrective justice, and what role mental elements should play in shaping the law. The relationship between unjust enrichment and public law is also considered.