Patrick Atiyah
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Patrick Selim Atiyah (5 March 1931 – 30 March 2018) was an English
lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
and
legal scholar Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the a ...
. He was best known for his work in the
common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...
, particularly in the law of
contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
and for advocating reformation or abolition of the law of
tort A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with cri ...
(
tort reform Tort reform consists of changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes ...
). He was made a
Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...
in 1979.


Biography

Patrick Selim Atiyah was born on 5 March 1931. He was a son of the Lebanese writer Edward Atiyah and his Scottish wife Jean. The mathematician Sir
Michael Atiyah Sir Michael Francis Atiyah (; 22 April 1929 – 11 January 2019) was a British-Lebanese mathematician specialising in geometry. His contributions include the Atiyah–Singer index theorem and co-founding topological K-theory. He was awarded the ...
was his older brother. As a child, Patrick lived in Sudan and Egypt. The family moved to England in 1945. Patrick attended secondary school at Woking County Grammar School for Boys and went on to read law at
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...
. Atiyah was professor of law at the
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
(1970–1973), at the
University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...
(1973–1977) and professor of English law at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
(1977–1988). He also was visiting Professor of Law at
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
(1982-1983). He died on 30 March 2018.


Bibliography

;Books *'' Essays on Contract'' (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'' (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'' (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 Coercion involves compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner through the use of threats, including threats to use force against that party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to i ...
. 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 Tort reform consists of changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes ...


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atiyah, Patrick S. 1931 births 2018 deaths Academics of the University of Warwick Academic staff of the Australian National University 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 20th-century English lawyers