Privity and exceptions to privity in Scots Private Law: a new taxonomy

The doctrine of privity of contract broadly provides that a contract should neither benefit nor burden parties external to the contract. This thesis can be divided into two parts: the first on privity itself, and the second on its exceptions. The first part contains a historical analysis of the development of privity, leading to the provision of a definition of privity in modern Scots law. It also examines whether privity is compatible with the leading theories of Scots contract law (will theory, promissory theory, and assumption theory) and considers the relationship between privity and third party rights. The interaction between privity and delict has proved controversial in various situations involving third-party loss. Accordingly, this part analyses the intersection between privity and delictual liability. The first part also identifies and assesses the policy considerations that have justified statutory exceptions to privity. It concludes with discussion on whether privity does and should continue to exist in Scots law. The second part provides a taxonomy of concepts which operate where: 1. There is an extra-contractual party 2. Which has suffered loss caused by non-performance or defective performance of a contract 3. And it lacks a contractual right to recover its losses 4. And the concept provides a means of recovery for the extra-contractual party, and/ or a means by which the contracting party which did not cause the loss can recover on behalf of the extra-contractual party. The four relevant concepts are: contracts for the benefit of another; transferred loss; ad hoc agency; and undisclosed agency. The thesis analyses each concept in turn, examining its relationship with privity, contract theory, and delictual liability. Policy considerations supporting each exception are identified and assessed. The conclusions of the thesis address whether these concepts can be recognised as justifiable exceptions to privity. The question of whether external network liability should be recognised as a new exception to privity is also considered. Whilst the thesis focuses on Scots law, comparative reference is made throughout to English law. This is because the development of contracts for the benefit of another, transferred loss, and undisclosed agency is closely intertwined in the two jurisdictions

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children