Assessment of contractual damages : developments in the test for remoteness in contractual damages under English and South African law, with particular regard to the 2008 House of Lords judgement in The Achilleas

Includes bibliographical references.The test for remoteness of damages laid down in Hadley v Baxendale has survived more than a century and a half with comparatively little meddling from the English courts. That is not to say there has been no attempt at refinement or clarification. The recent decision in The Achilleas saw five Law Lords coming to the same conclusion as to the rule’s effect but for very different reasons. This dissertation will consider the historical development of the Hadley v Baxendale rule, its rationale, its application in the later English cases of Nettleship, Victoria Laundry and The Heron II, the approaches adopted by the House of Lords in The Achilleas, its subsequent effect in The Amer Energy and The Sylvia, the difference in approach adopted in tort and finally will conclude with a comparison of the approaches to assessing remoteness of damages in English and South African law