What is a Nuisance Anyway? - presented by Professor Allan Beever

About the Event

The recent and controversial decision of the UK Supreme Court in Fearn v Tate Gallery has caused many to question the nature of the law of private nuisance. To many commentators, it has seemed that Fearn expanded the law into new territory, opening up a wide sphere of potential future liability. Many have also felt that the decision is inconsistent with the proper foundations of the law, in particular with the idea that the task of the law is to protect rights incidental to property. This talk questions both of these views. It argues that the scape of Fearn is much narrower than sometimes appreciated. Moreover, it maintains that Fearn helps to reveal a most fundamental aspect of the right that lies at the heart of the law of private nuisance. 

About the Speaker

Professor Beever is a leading tort lawyer and theorist of private law. Author of the books Rediscovering the Law of Negligence, Forgotten Justice: A History of Political and Legal Theory, The Law of Private Nuisance, A Theory of Tort Liability, and Law’s Reality: A Philosophy of Law as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters, Professor Beever’s research has had a significant international impact on scholarship in his areas of expertise. In recognition of this, he has won prestigious awards for his research, including a von Humboldt Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany and a Major Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust, UK. In 2013, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne Law School held a symposium on Professor Beever’s work, entitled ‘Allan Beever on Tort Law and Political Philosophy – A Newcastle Law School Symposium’ and in 2014, the Australian Society of Legal Philosophy Annual Conference featured a book symposium on his Forgotten Justice: A History of Political and Legal Theory.

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