The law of judicial remedies, which includes the law of damages, ranges over the entire field of substantive private law, including the law of contract, tort, and property. In a pragmatic sense, an examination of the issue of remedies is crucial to civil litigators in that it provides critical insights into specific legal rules and arrangements. From a theoretical perspective, an understanding of the principles governing the choice of remedies and the methods of quantifying damages reveals much about the nature of the common law process. In Remedies: The Law of Damages, Professor Cassels has written a book that is both a succinct handbook for the practitioner and a rich entry point to the study of judge-made law for students.
Unlike other texts, this book takes a functional and interest-based approach to the subject. The book is organized not so much according to whether the cause of action is in tort or contract, but rather according to the remedial purposes pursued and the interests at stake. The first part of the book deals with compensation, providing separate chapters that focus on the way in which courts treat different interests: economic, proprietary, physical, and intangible. Part Two describes the function of other non-compensatory damages such as restitutionary, punitive, and nominal damages. In both cases the author explains when a particular remedy is most appropriate and how that remedy is formulated and applied once chosen. Part Three of the book looks at the limiting or balancing principles that protect the defendant from undue liability, including rules regarding proof and certainty, remoteness, and mitigation of damages.

Jamie Cassels, B.A., LL.B., LL.M. is the vice president academic and former dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria. His research and writing covers environmental issues, law and society in India, and race and gender issues in the law of torts. He is the author of several books including The Uncertain Promise of Law: Lessons from Bhopal and Remedies: The Law of Damages (Irwin Law, 2000).
Professor Cassels is a director of the British Columbia Law Institute and engages in public interest research and advocacy. He has won numerous awards for his teaching and scholarship, including the Faculty of Law's Master Teacher Award, the University of Victoria Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Canadian Association of Law Teachers Award for Academic Excellence.

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