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Overview

The law relating to claims, quasi-contractual or otherwise, which are founded upon the principle of unjust enrichment.

The Law of Restitution is a loose confederation of legal rules that have one thing in common: the defendant has been unjustly enriched at the expense of the plaintiff. In all other respects, the law is highly diverse, ranging from claims arising out of explicit transactions between the parties (i.e. restitutionary remedies in which one party has broken a contract) to claims between complete strangers (i.e. mistaken improvement of another's land); and from the accidental (i.e. money paid under mistake) to the deliberate (i.e. transactions entered into under duress and coercion).

About this paper

Paper title Law of Restitution
Subject Law
EFTS 0.1
Points 15 points
Teaching period Semester 1 (On campus)
Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) $820.40
International Tuition Fees Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website.
Prerequisite
LAWS 202 and LAWS 203 and 36 further LAWS points
Pre or Corequisite
LAWS 301 and any 200-level LAWS paper not already passed
Limited to
LLB, LLB(Hons)
Notes
Not all optional papers will be available in any given year.
Contact
law@otago.ac.nz
Teaching staff
Professor Struan Scott
Paper Structure
The method of instruction is a combination of lectures and small group student-led seminars. To accommodate the seminars, scheduled classes may be replaced with others to be held at another time. This will be done with the agreement of members of the class.
Textbooks
Course materials are provided by the Faculty.
Graduate Attributes Emphasised
Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Environmental literacy, Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation, Teamwork.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.
Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this paper will:

  • Have an understanding of the various conceptions of the principle of unjust enrichment advanced by judges and academics in commonwealth jurisdictions
  • Have a general overview of the the legal materials within the law of restitution
  • Be able to critically analyse the case law relating to this field

Overview

The law relating to claims, quasi-contractual or otherwise, which are founded upon the principle of unjust enrichment.

The Law of Restitution is a loose confederation of legal rules that have one thing in common: the defendant has been unjustly enriched at the expense of the plaintiff. In all other respects, the law is highly diverse, ranging from claims arising out of explicit transactions between the parties (i.e. restitutionary remedies in which one party has broken a contract) to claims between complete strangers (i.e. mistaken improvement of another's land); and from the accidental (i.e. money paid under mistake) to the deliberate (i.e. transactions entered into under duress and coercion).

About this paper

Paper title Law of Restitution
Subject Law
EFTS 0.1125
Points 15 points
Teaching period Not offered in 2027 (On campus)
Domestic Tuition Fees Tuition Fees for 2027 have not yet been set
International Tuition Fees Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website.
Prerequisite
LAWS 202 and LAWS 203 and 36 further LAWS points
Pre or Corequisite
LAWS 301 and any 200-level LAWS paper not already passed
Limited to
LLB, LLB(Hons)
Notes
Not all optional papers will be available in any given year.
Contact
law@otago.ac.nz
Teaching staff
Professor Struan Scott
Paper Structure

The method of instruction is a combination of lectures and small group student-led seminars. To accommodate the seminars, scheduled classes may be replaced with others to be held at another time. This will be done with the agreement of members of the class.

Textbooks

All course readings for this paper are provided by the Faculty on Aoroa.

Graduate Attributes Emphasised
Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Environmental literacy, Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation, Teamwork.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.
Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this paper will:

  • Be able to display an understanding of the various conceptions of the principle of unjust enrichment and restitutionary remedies advanced by judges and academics in commonwealth jurisdictions and considered in this paper.
  • Be able to critically analyse the case law and associated academic commentary relating to this field.
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