HKU Private Law and Theory Speaker Series
Three Dangerous Ideas in the Law on Liability for Omissions in Tort
8 April 2025 (Tuesday), 6:00 – 7:00 PM
Academic Conference Room, 11/F Cheng Yu Tung Tower, The University of Hong Kong
At the moment, English law on liability for omissions in tort seems to have achieved a stability and predictability that seemed impossible 20 years ago when the House of Lords’ decision in Stovin v Wise [1996] UKHL 15 showed that England’s apex court was bitterly divided over the future course of this area of law. But 10 years on from the UK Supreme Court’s decision in Michael v Chief Constable of South Wales Police [2015] UKSC 2, that did so much to bring some order to the law on liability for omissions in tort, three ideas threaten to throw this area of law into new, uncharted and stormy waters. These ideas are that a defendant may be held liable to a claimant for failing to take reasonable steps to save them from being injured if (a) the defendant assumed a responsibility to the claimant, or (b) the defendant foreseeably interfered with a third party’s or the claimant’s saving the claimant from being injured, or (c) that ‘common humanity’ demanded that the defendant take reasonable steps to save the claimant from being injured. This lecture will discuss each of these ‘dangerous’ ideas and how their future development might impact on the law on liability for omissions in tort.
About the Speaker
Nick McBride is a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge and is the author of: The Humanity of Private Law, Parts I and II (Hart Publishing, 2019 and 2020); Letters to a Law Student, 5th ed (Pearson Education, 2022); Tort Law, 7th ed (Pearson Education, 2024) (with Roderick Bagshaw); Great Debates in Jurisprudence, 2nd ed (Macmillan Publishing, 2018) (with Sandy Steel); and Key Ideas in Contract Law (Hart Publishing, 2018) and Key Ideas in Trusts Law (Hart Publishing, 2023). He was formerly a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford and studied Law at Brasenose College, Oxford. For a number of years, he taught on the HKU JD course. He is currently working on projects on the history and nature of the common law; and the nature of evil and its relevance to law.
Chair: Professor Peter Chau, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong
Registration is required for this in-person event. Please register ONLINE to reserve your place.
Enquiries: Flora Leung at