Practical Reason and Private Law: Some Sketches.

The article examines the conceptual foundations and practical rationales of private law, focusing on property and tort law within common law traditions. It highlights how property law abstracts rights into entities like estates and trusts to promote stability, security, and autonomy, illustrated by the case of Re Freeston’s Charity involving University College and a beneficiary school. Tort law is characterized as enforcing moral duties of care and respect through legal principles rather than strict directives, with discussion on the limits of viewing torts as violations of relational legal directives. The article further explores private law remedies for harms caused by public regulatory failures, emphasizing the potential tort liability of regulatory agencies and institutions for negligence in approving or mandating inherently risky medical products, while noting statutory immunities such as the U.S. PREP Act.