This book is the first in a series of essay collections on defences in
private law. It addresses defences to liability arising in tort. The
essays range from those adopting a primarily doctrinal approach to
others that examine the law from a more theoretical or historical
perspective. Some essays focus on individual defences, while some are
concerned with the links between defences, or with how defences relate
to the structure of tort law as a whole. A number of the essays also
draw upon concepts and literature that have been developed mainly in
relation to the criminal law, and consider their application to tort
law. The essays make several original contributions to this complex,
important but neglected field of academic enquiry.