A cyclical perspective of the common law

TL;DRAbstract

This thesis is an attempt to use synthesis and analysis in respect of certain models of tort obligation to show that the common law has evolved and been shaped by recurring cycles. It was not possible to analyse the entirety of the wide sweep of tort obligation, so the models of trespass, trespass on the case, deceit and special relationship negligence were synthesised and then historically compared. From these models distinct recurring cycles of the common law became apparent, which alternated between expansionary and conservative stages. At one time the common law seeks a vehicle for new flexible remedies and obligations, and at another, it seeks the certainty of fixed rules. The cycle is incessant as for every swing in one direction, at a certain point on the pendulum, there will be a reaction. This thesis explores the pathology of those cycles through such selected models, including the symptoms exhibited by the initial ad hoc characteristics of the birth of a remedy or obligation,

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