Restitution at the Crossroads: A Comparative Study

This book contrasts two competing models of unjust enrichment liability: the common law model and the civil law model. The former bases restitution on concrete, pragmatic 'unjust factors', rendering an enrichment unjust in the eyes of the law, while the latter operates with the negative requirement that restitution will follow if an enrichment is not supported by a 'legal ground' or 'juristic reason'. The common law of unjust enrichment is a very young subject, while its civil law counterpart is based on two millennia of development. Should English law therefore accept that the civil law model is superior and adopt an anglicised version of 'legal ground' reasoning? This is indeed suggested by German commentators, and the English case law seems to be moving English enrichment law in that direction. This book considers such arguments by examining the reasons for restitution in English and German law.