Patrick Selim Atiyah, (5 March 1931 – 30 March 2018) was an
English lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
and
academic. He was best known for his work as a common lawyer, particularly in the law of
contract and for advocating reformation or abolition of the law of
tort. He was made a Fellow of the British Academy in 1979.
Biography
Patrick Selim Atiyah was born on 5 March 1931.
He was a son of the
Lebanese
Lebanese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic
* Lebanese people
The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...
writer
Edward Atiyah
Edward Selim Atiyah (Arabic: ادوار سليم عطية; 1903 – 22 October 1964) was an Anglo-Lebanese author and political activist. He is best known for his 1946 autobiography ''An Arab Tells His Story'', and his 1955 book ''The Arabs'' ...
and his
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
wife Jean.
[ The mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah was his brother.][ As a child, Patrick lived in Sudan and Egypt.][ Patrick attended primary school at Woking County Grammar School for Boys and went on to read law at ]Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
.[
Atiyah was professor of law at the Australian National University (1970–1973), at the University of Warwick (1973–1977) and professor of English law at the University of Oxford (1977–1988). He also was visiting Professor of Law at ]Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
(1982-1983).[
He died on 30 March 2018.][
]
Bibliography
;Books
*''Essays on Contract
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal ...
'' (1986), Oxford University Press, Digital Reproduction available at Google Books (2001)
*'' Atiyah's Accidents, Compensation and the Law'' (1970), now (2006) and updated by Peter Cane
*''The Rise and Fall of Freedom of Contract
''The Rise and Fall of Freedom of Contract'' (1979) is a legal-historical text on the changes in the concept of freedom of contract by English Professor Patrick Atiyah. It was published by the Oxford University Press, and a paperback edition was r ...
'' (1979) Oxford University Press
*'' Promises, Morals, and Law'' (1983) Oxford University Press
*''Form and Substance in Anglo-American Law'' (1987).
*''An Introduction to the Law of Contract'' (1995 5th Ed.) Clarendon Law Series, now updated by Stephen Smith.
*''The Damages Lottery
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1997) Hart Publishing.
;Articles
*'Economic Duress and the Overborne Will' (1982) 98 '' LQR'' 197. Atiyah argued that it was wrong to use the phrase 'coercion of the will' in the test for duress. Duress does not eliminate free choice, it just creates a choice between evils. What is wrong about a contract is not an absence of consent, but the wrongful nature of the threats used to bring about consent.
See also
* Tort reform
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atiyah, Patrick S.
1931 births
2018 deaths
Academics of the University of Warwick
Australian National University faculty
British people of Lebanese descent
English barristers
English King's Counsel
Fellows of the British Academy
Fellows of St John's College, Oxford
English legal scholars
English legal writers
Scholars of contract law
Scholars of tort law
Legal scholars of the University of Oxford
English male non-fiction writers
Atiyah family
20th-century English lawyers