Book Review: The Law of Misleading or Deceptive Conduct
| Author | J LR Davis |
| Published date | 01 September 1999 |
| Date | 01 September 1999 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0067205X9902700309 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
BOOK
REVIEW
Colin
Lockhart,
The
Law
of
Misleading
or
Deceptive
Conduct,
Butterworths,
1998
(366
pp)
J
L
R
Davis*
It
must
be
said
at
once
that
this
is
a
very
good
book.
As
its
title
makes
clear,
it
deals
with
the
law which
has
developed
around
the
prohibition
on
misleading
or
deceptive
conduct
contained
in
s 52
of
the
Trade
Practices
Act
1974
(Cth)
and
the
counterparts
of
that
provision
in
the
Fair
Trading
Acts
of
the
States,
the
Territories
and
New
Zealand.
And
it
deals
with
that
prodigious
case
law,
and
associated
provisions
of
the
relevant
legislation,
clearly,
concisely
and yet
comprehensively.
This
reviewer could
not
find
one
case,
or one
relevant
statutory
provision,
which
was
not
included
in
the
exposition
of
the
law.
The
book
is
very
timely.
Section
52
of
the
Trade
Practices
Act
and
its
counterparts
have
had
a
fundamental
effect
on
commercial
life
in
Australia
and
New Zealand. Their
shadow
must
necessarily
fall
over
all
contractual negotiations
in
the
business world,
whether
relating
to
the
formation
or
the
variation
of
a
contract.
The
provision
must
(or
should)
be
in
the
minds
of
all
professional people
as
they
prepare
advice,
and
must
(or
should)
guide
those
who
advertise
their
products
in
the
market-place.
And
yet,
prior
to
the
appearance
of
this
work,
a
discussion
of
the
statutory
prohibition
was
to
be
found
only
in
books
dealing
with
trade
practices
law
in
general,
the
law
of
contract,
intellectual
property
law,
or
the
law
of
torts. And
in
such
works,
of
necessity,
the
evaluation
of
the
provision
was
relatively
brief.
The
author and
publisher
are
to
be
congratulated
on
producing
a
book
devoted
solely
to
the
law
surrounding
this
most
important
legislative
provision.
The
structure
of
the
book
is
simplicity
itself.
It
is
divided
into two
parts,
the
first
dealing
with
the
kinds
of
conduct
which
fall
within
the
statutory
prohibition
(including
those aspects
of
such
conduct
as
are
exempt
therefrom),
and
the
second
with
the
consequences
of
a
contravention
of
the
provision.
Within
the
first
part
there
is,
as
one
would
expect,
a
discussion
of
the
meaning and
effect
of
the
limitation
imposed
by
the
restriction
of
liabililty
to
conduct
which
is
in
"trade
or
commerce",
followed
by
four chapters
which
are
concerned
to
provide
some
definition
to
the term
"misleading
or
deceptive
conduct". The
second
part
opens
with
a
consideration
of
general issues
relating
to
the
remedies
for
misleading
or
deceptive
conduct,
followed
by
a
chapter
on
those
who
might
be liable.
Three
chapters
then
discuss
the
various
types
of
orders
which
may
be
made
under
ss
80, 82
and
87
of
the
Trade
Practices
Act
and
their
equivalents,
and
the
part
concludes
with a
chapter
on
limitation
periods.
Professor
of
Law,
Australian
National
University.
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