Description

At this short symposium Dr KV Krishnaprasad and Timothy Pilkington will consider fundamental ideas in the law of unjust enrichment. Both speakers are barristers, practising at One Essex Court in London and Thornton Chambers in Wellington respectively. Dr Pilkington is also an adjunct lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington, where he lectures on property law. In both cases the research to be presented was conducted in the course of doctoral research at the University of Oxford.

Dr Krishnaprasad’s new book, Unjust Enrichment and Countervailing Obligations (2025) seeks to explain why and in what circumstances an unjust enrichment claim is available where the defendant received the enrichment in discharge of a legal obligation. Answers to these questions help us to understand the relationship between unjust enrichment and neighbouring areas of law.

Dr Pilkington’s research, to be published in a forthcoming book, examines the justification for restitutionary awards for failure of condition and considers when, given this justification, such awards should be made. He argues that restitutionary awards for a failure of condition give effect to, but do not enforce, an agreement between the parties.

Assistant Professor Hu Ying will comment on Dr Krishnaprasad’s presentation and Assistant Professor Marcus Teo will comment on Dr Pilkington’s presentation. Professor Steven Elliott KC will moderate the symposium.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Krishna is a barrister at One Essex Court, London.

His practice focusses on large-scale commercial disputes involving complex points of law. He has appeared at all levels before the English Courts, including the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. He is ranked as a leading junior by Legal500, which describes him as “fiercely intelligent”, “incredibly hardworking”, “calm under pressure” and “a delight to work with”.

Krishna holds an undergraduate degree from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore and the BCL, MPhil and DPhil degrees from the University of Oxford. His research on unjust enrichment was supervised by Professor Robert Stevens and examined by Professors Andrew Burrows, William Swadling, Ben McFarlane and Robert Chambers.

Krishna has several publications on English and Indian law, and his work on unjust enrichment was cited with approval by the English Court of Appeal in Equitas Insurance Ltd v Municipal Mutual Insurance Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 718 (Leggatt LJ). His recent publications include Unjust Enrichment and Countervailing Obligations (Hart 2025) and the co-edited volume Foundations of Indian Contract Law (OUP 2024).

Tim is a barrister at Thorndon Chambers in New Zealand. His practice focusses principally on commercial, civil fraud and trusts matters, many of which have complex issues relating to remedies. He is also admitted to practice in New South Wales, Australia.

Tim holds a D.Phil from St John’s College, Oxford.  His D.Phil research on restitution for a failure of condition was supervised by Professor Ben McFarlane and examined by Professor Robert Stevens and Justice James Edelman. Tim was previously a lecturer at the University of Sydney Law School, where he taught commercial and property law. Before that, he was a judge’s clerk in the New South Wales Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.

Tim continues to do academic work and is presently working on a book based on his D.Phil, to be published by Hart Publishing in 2026.