Misfeasance in a Public Office

Misfeasance in a Public Office provides a comprehensive study of the tort of misfeasance in a public office in Canada and other Commonwealth jurisdictions.

Misfeasance is a unique tort in that it applies only to public officers, and so exists at the intersection of private and public law. Since the House of Lords' decision in Three Rivers v. Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No 3) (2001) and the Supreme Court of Canada's decision inOdhavji Estate v. Woodhouse (2003), misfeasance has been pleaded with increasing frequency and in situations covering a wide range of official misconduct.

This book provides an organizational framework for the tort and a thorough catalogue of its application in specific cases. It also provides a theoretical foundation that clarifies the underlying purposes of misfeasance in a public office, its relationship to other areas of law, and its present and future role in the modern administrative state.