Institute of Global Law

Fifth Edition of Prof. Markesinis' Treatise on Tort Law Published

The 5th edition of Professor Basil Markesinis' classic Treatise on the Law of Torts has been published this month by Oxford University Press. The new edition was written in collaboration with two of his former pupils - Simon Deakin, now one of England's leading law and economics and labour law specialists and Angus Johnston, a rising star in matters of European Union law and the law of confidentiality.

The well-cited treatise of over 950 printed pages, occupies a very special position in the tort literature of Great Britain because of its unique inter-disciplinary and comparative approach to problems of tort law. But it also has a special connection with the UT Law School. For apart from the fact that Markesinis holds the Jamail Regents Chair in Law and has been teaching in the School for over seventeen years now, this work also contains long chapters by Professors David Robertson and David Anderson, who point out the similarities and differences between English and 'American' tort law in such important and increasingly transantional problems as negligence liability and liability for statements which either defamatory or intrude into human privacy.

Asked about the new edition of this massive work, Markesinis expressed his delight that the work has reached its fifth edition during the eighteen years or so that he has been at UT. "I was brought to Austin by Charlie Wright and Page Keeton and, initially, taught with Page a joint class. That was a unique honour; and the sense of privilege and satisfaction I got from it has continued as a result of my collaboration over the years with such great scholars as David Robertson and David Anderson. Indeed, this law school, which counts among its tort experts Bill Powers, Guy Welborn, and John Robertson, is a veritable hot house of ideas for anyone interested in this area of the law".
Markesinis holds the Jamail Regents chair, named after one of the country's leading tort litigators. Markesinis, who is a Queen's Counsel, Fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Belgian and Netherlands Academies, the Academy of Athens and the American Law Institute, has authored twenty-five books and over one hundred and thirty law articles. His latest book, "Comparative Law in the Courtroom and the Classroom" was published early in the year by Hart Publishing (Oxford and Oregon).