Corpus Christi College, Oxford OX1 4JF; matthew.dyson@law.ox.ac.uk Education January 2005-May 2009: PhD (Cantab.). 2001-2004: BA (Hons.) (Cantab.). Research Interests Modern comparative law and legal history, in Europe, the Americas and Australia from 1800. Criminal Law and Tort Law in England and Wales; criminal and civil procedure. Recent Employment History 2023-present: Director of the Institute for European and Comparative Law, University of Oxford. December 2021-present: Professor of Civil and Criminal Law, University of Oxford, Tutorial Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. October 2016-December 2021: Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford and Tutorial Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. November 2022-present: Global Professor of Law, The University of Notre Dame (USA) in England (Oct 2020-Oct 2022 as Visiting Professor and Senior Fellow). October 2011-September 2016: Fellow and Director of Studies, Trinity College Cambridge. October 2008-September 2011: Fellow and Director of Studies, Jesus College Cambridge.
Publications
Monographs
1. [2025] (forthcoming) Criminal Law: A Very Short Introduction (OUP) (35,000 words)
Comparative analysis of criminal law around the world, featuring civilian, common law and Islamic systems, designed for the educated lay reader and students. It covers criminal legal reasoning, general principles and a range of specific offences.
2. [2022] Explaining Tort and Crime (CUP) (511 pages).
“an impressive and ambitious book. It goes to show Dyson’s formidable knowledge of the historical developments behind crime and tort in England and in other jurisdictions, and his ability to bring them all together in rigorous analysis.” Ambrose Lee (2023) Crim LR 393, 396.
“A mighty achievement… Explaining Tort and Crime is a terrific book, and we are deeply in Matt Dyson’s debt. Not only does it realise the ambition of promoting scholarship on tort and crime, it also makes a major contribution to the literature on doctrinal development and change in the law. It has taught me a great deal. One can ask and expect no more.” Peter Cane https://clcjbooks.rutgers.edu/
“a remarkable achievement, not only because of the breadth of the author’s knowledge but also because of his fine eye for even subtle differences in meaning. Those who write on these topics in the future will owe him a great debt.” James Gordley (2023) Comparative Legal History 1, 1.
Edited Books
3. [2025] (forthcoming) (ed) Understanding Illegal Tort Claims: Comparative Legal Reasoning in Global Perspective (Hart) (190,000 words).
The first comparative treatment of the ways legal systems respond to claims where the claimant was engaged in illegal conduct, covering 13 legal systems from South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania.
4. [2024] Blackstone’s Statutes on Criminal Law 34th edition (OUP) (ed. since 2016).
5. [2018] (with Benjamin Vogel) The Limits of Criminal Law (Intersentia).
“delivers both rich descriptive detail on the two systems and significant, high-level comparative insights” Dr Andrew Cornford (2020) Edinburgh Law Review 450.
6. [2018] Regulating Risk through Private Law (Intersentia).
“a fundamental work that skilfully examines the very important aspects of risk reasoning on a comparative legal basis” Prof Wolfgang Wurmnest (2019) ZEuP 646.
7. [2016] (with J. Lee & S. Wilson Stark) Fifty Years of the Law Commissions: The Dynamics of Law Reform (Hart); review article by Kenny J (2019) 39 OJLS 603-623; see also:
should be commended for bringing together such an impressive range of
contributors, but also, considering the number of chapters, for compiling a
thematically coherent and focused collection, aided in no small part by the wide
ranging and provocative chapters written by the editors themselves
should be commended for bringing together such an impressive range of
contributors, but also, considering the number of chapters, for compiling a
thematically coherent and focused collection, aided in no small part by the wide
ranging and provocative chapters written by the editors themselves
“[the editors] should be commended for bringing together such an impressive range of contributors, but also, considering the number of chapters, for compiling a thematically coherent and focused collection, aided in no small part by the wide ranging and provocative chapters written by the editors themselves.” Dr Jon Child, (2017) Legal Studies 569.
8. [2015] Comparing Tort and Crime (CUP).
“Comparing Tort and Crime is an extremely valuable book that, in its conception and execution, meets the highest standards.” Prof Prue Vines, (2016) 32 Sydney LR 273.
“the book is a great piece of scholarship, full of detailed information and well-thought analysis that was simply not available before.” Dr Marta Infantino, [2016] European Review of Private Law 917.
9. [2014] Unravelling Tort and Crime (CUP)
“neat theoretical distinctions between criminal law and tort law in terms… may not hold up to scrutiny when tested against the messy reality. Legal scholars [might]… study the messy reality, urge reforms along the lines of the best theories of criminal law or tort law, or revise their theories to match the reality… This collection of essays is a good place to start on all of those fronts.” Prof Youngjae Lee, https://clcjbooks.rutgers.edu/.
10. [2013] (with D. Ibbetson) Law and Legal Process: Substantive Law and Procedure in English Legal History (CUP).
Collection of essays spanning hundreds of years of legal history, refined from the British Legal History Conference, hosted by the editors and others in Cambridge in 2012.
Articles (peer reviewed journals)
11. [2022] “The contribution of complicity” (2022) 86 Journal of Criminal Law 389-419 cited by the Court of Appeal in R v Hussain [2023] EWCA Crim 697, [58]-[59].
12. [2018] “Principals without distinction” [2018] Crim LR 293-317.
13. [2017] “Ever working in practice, but never in theory? The new English law of criminal complicity” [2017] Zeitschrift für die gesamte Strafrechtswissenschaft 232-263.
14. [2016] “If the present were the past” [2016] American Journal of Legal History 41-52.
15. [2015] “Might alone does not make right: justifying secondary liability” [2015] Criminal Law Review 967-985.
16. [2015] “La respuesta del derecho civil a sentencias penales en Inglaterra y España” InDret 3/2015, 1-53.
17. [2015] “The future of joint-up thinking: living in a post-accessory liability world” (2015) 79 Journal of Criminal Law 181-197.
18. [2015] with John Randall QC, “Criminal convictions and the civil courts” [2015] CLJ 78-108.
19. (2012) “Civil law responses to criminal judgments in England and Spain” (2012) 3 Journal of European Tort Law 308-345.
20. [2012] “The timing of tortious and criminal actions for the same wrong” [2012] CLJ 85-116.
Book Chapters
21. (forthcoming) (with L. Eldridge and A. Hannay) ‘Legal History Teaching in England and Wales’ in V. Kluger et al, (eds), “Diálogos transnacionales entre historiadores del derecho/Transnational Dialogues amongst Legal Historians” (Pautas, 2024) (12,000 words).
22. (forthcoming) ‘Pilfered Ginger’ in M. Cappelletti et al (eds), Essays in Honour of Simon Whittaker (Hart, 2024) (10,000 words).
23. (forthcoming) ‘Prohibiting Ignorance’ in A. Heinze et al. (eds), Blame for Ignorance (publisher tbc, 2025) (4,000 words).
24. (in press) ‘Naked Rights’ in P-A Hirsch and E. Moser (eds), Rights in Criminal Law (Hart, 2024) (10,000 words).
25. (in press) ‘Private Coherence: legal reasoning across parts of the legal system’ in P. Miller and J. Oberdiek (eds), Oxford Studies in Private Law Theory Vol III (OUP, 2024).
26. (in press) (with Thomas Weigend) ‘Intention’ in K. Ambos et al. (eds) Core Concepts in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice vol 3 (CUP, 2024) (17,000 words).
27. (in press) ‘Justice and Legal Change’ in E. Urso (ed) Quale Diritto per quale giustizia (Jovene, 2023) (10,000 words).
28. ‘Responsibility over Crime and Tort’ in A. Loughnan et al (eds) Routledge International Handbook on Criminal Responsibility (Routledge, 2024) (7,000 words).
29. ‘The Place of Strict Liability in England’ in E. Karner et al. (eds) Fault-based and Strict Liability. Chinese and European Perspectives (Jan Sramek, 2024) (8,000 words).
30. ‘The spectrum of factual and legal uncertainty’ in J. McCunn and A. Bell (eds), Known Unknowns (Routledge, 2024) (10,000 words).
31. (with E. Gordon) ‘Tort Law and Stability’ in J. Sampson and S. Tofaris (eds), Essays in Law and History for David Ibbetson: Querella (Hart, 2024) (12,000 words).
32. (with M. Stevenson) “Response to Proposal for pre-charge anonymity” in M. Bone et al (eds) Criminal Law Reform Now Vol. II (Hart, 2024) (5,000 words).
33. ‘Intention in Tort’ in J. Eldridge et al. (eds) Australian Tort Law in the 21st Century (Federation Press, 2023) (10,000 words).
34. (et al.) ‘England’ in R. Rijnhout and T. Arons (eds), The Common Core of Mass Torts (Intersentia, 2023) (10,000 words).
35. ‘Roundabout Law’ in S. Turenne (ed), Reasons and Context in Comparative Law: Essays in Honour of John Bell (CUP, 2023) (11,000 words).
36. (with C. Sepúlveda Penna) ‘Participation and Complicity’ in V. Mitseilegas et al. (eds) Elgar Encyclopedia of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice (Elgar, 2022) (7,500 words).
37. (with M. Pantaleón Díaz) ‘Tort and Crime’ in V. Mitseilegas et al. (eds) Elgar Encyclopedia of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice (Elgar, 2022) (7,500 words).
38. [2022] (with Frank Meyer) ‘Structures within Criminal Legal Reasoning’ in K. Ambos et al. (eds) Core Concepts in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice vol 2 (CUP, 2021) (17,000 words).
39. [2021] “Age Before Beauty; Pearls Before Swine: when the Criminal Law’s Content Gives Way” in M. Engelhart et al. (eds) Digitalisierung, Globalisierung und Risikoprävention: Festschrift für Ulrich Sieber zum 70. Geburtstag (Duncker & Humblot), vol 1, 15-26.
40. [2021] “Presence of mind and the future of legal history” in C. Häthén et al. (eds) Legal History: Reflecting the Past and the Present, Current Perspectives for the Future (Olin), 38-54.
41. [2021] “Tort and Crime” in Mauro Bussani & Antony Sebok (eds), Comparative Tort Law: Global Perspectives (Edward Elgar), 84-111.
42. [2020] (with S. Taylor and D. Fairgrieve) “Regards comparatifs sur les projets de réforme français et belge. La perspective du droit anglais”, in B. Dubuisson (ed) La réforme de la responsabilité civile en France et en Belgique. Regards croisés et aspects de droit comparé (Bruylant), 133-152.
43. [2020] “Beyond anecdote and synecdoche” in W. Ernst and B. Häcker (eds) Collective Judging in Comparative Perspective (Intesentia) 327-339.
44. [2020] “Unavoidable procedural questions about tort and crime” in CE Pianovski and N Rosenvald (eds) Novas Fronteiras da responsabilidade civil: direito comparado (Foco), 385-408.
45. [2020] “The Queen v C, D and E: In the Supreme Court of Ruritania” in B Krebs (ed) Accessorial Liability after Jogee (Hart), 133-156.
46. [2019] “Comparative Legal History: Methodology for Morphology” in O Moréteau et al (eds) Edward Elgar Handbook of Comparative Legal History, 110-138.
47. [2018] “Overlap, Separation and Hybridity Across Tort and Crime” in Dyson and Vogel (eds) The Limits of Criminal Law (Intersentia), 79-105.
48. [2018] (with Benjamin Vogel) Introduction, eight comparative conclusions and “Reflections on Criminal Law in England and Germany” in Dyson and Vogel (eds) The Limits of Criminal Law (Intersentia).
49. [2018] (with Sandy Steel), “Risk and English Tort Law” in M Dyson (ed) Regulating Risk Through Private Law (Intersentia), 23-54.
50. [2018] “What does risk-reasoning do in Tort law” in M Dyson (ed) Regulating Risk Through Private Law (Intersentia), 455-512.
51. [2017] (with Aniceto Masferrer), “The Lawyers’ Reality: Wrongdoing in Spain in the Era of Codification” in A. Sinclair & S. Llano (eds) Writing Wrongdoing, 19-33.
52. [2017] (with Paul Jarvis) “Remedies of the Criminal Courts” in G. Virgo and S. Worthington (eds), Commercial Remedies: Resolving Controversies (CUP), 515-541.
53. [2017] “The State’s obligation to provide a coherent system of remedies across crime and tort” in A. du Bois-Pedain et al. (eds), Criminal Law and the Authority of the State (Hart), 171-198.
54. [2017] “R v. Hancock and Shankland” in P. Handler, H. Mares and I. Williams (eds), Landmark Cases in the Criminal Law (Hart), 283-307.
55. [2016] “Precariousness as rhetoric: the role of the state in private and public expressions of justice” in C. Lageot & N. Papineau (eds), Approches franco-britanniques de la précarité: principe(s), droit(s), pratique(s) (LGDJ), 133-150.
56. [2016] “Judicial Decision-making in England Today” in J. Basedow, H. Fleischer & R. Zimmermann (eds) Legislators, Judges, and Professors (Mohr Siebeck), 97-150.
57. [2015] with John Randall QC, “England’s Splendid Isolation”, in M Dyson (ed), Comparing Tort and Crime (CUP) 18-72.
58. [2015] “Tortious Apples and Criminal Oranges” in M Dyson (ed), Comparing Tort and Crime (CUP) 416-475.
59. [2014] with Sarah Green, “The Properties of the Law: Restoring Personal Property through Crime and Tort” in Dyson (ed), Unravelling Tort and Crime (CUP), 389-421.
60. [2014] “Ligations Divide and Conquer: Using Legal Domains in Comparative Legal Studies” in Helleringer & Purnhagen (eds), Towards a European Legal Culture (Hart, Beck Nomos), 115-137.
61. [2013] “Challenging the Orthodoxy of Crime's Precedence over Tort: Suspending a Tort Claim Where a Crime May Exist” in Chamberlain, Neyers & Pitel (eds), Challenging Orthodoxy in Tort Law (Hart), 119-143.
62. [2009] Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies 247-288: “Connecting Tort and Crime: Comparative Legal History in England and Spain since 1850”.
Shorter Articles
63. [2017] “The smallest fault in manslaughter” [2017] Archbold Review, vol 6, 4-6.
64. [2017] “Frederick Pollock, The Law of Torts” in Serge Dauchy et al. (eds), The Formation and Transmission of Western Legal Culture: 150 Books that made the law in the Age of Printing (Springer), 411-413.
65. [2016] Letter to the editor [2016] Crim LR 638-642.
66. [2015] with Kourosh Saeb-Parsy et al. “Transplanting suboptimal organs: medicolegal implications” Lancet 2015, 386: 369-371.
67. [2014] Criminal Law Review “Scrapping Khan? The Court of Appeal and intending all you attempt” [2014] Crim LR 445-450.
68. [2013] “Symposium on Legal Domains and Comparative Law. Wheels Within Wheels: Using Legal Domains for Domestic Comparative Law” (2013) 17(3) The Edinburgh Law Review 420-424, symposium ends 430.
69. (2010) “Public Order on the Internet” (2010) 2 Archbold Review 6-9.
70. (2007) “R. v Rahman [2007] EWCA Crim 342: Fundamental Similarity in Secondary Liability” (2007) 4 Archbold News 4-6.
Case Notes
71. [2018] (with P Jarvis) Ivey v. Genting (2018) 134 LQR 198-203.
72. [2016] CLJ 196-199 R. v. Jogee; Ruddock v The Queen [2016] UKSC 8; UKPC 7.
73. [2010] CLJ 425-428, R. v. Thompson and Mendez [2010] EWCA Crim 516.
74. [2006] CLJ 10-13, R. v. Rimmington; R. v. Goldstein [2005] UKHL 63.
Book Reviews
75. (2011) ICLQ 1096-1098, Paula Giliker, Vicarious Liability in Tort: A Comparative Perspective, CUP, 2010.
76. [2010] CLJ 678, M. Dougan & S. Currie (eds), 50 Years of the European Treaties Looking Back and Thinking Forward, Hart, 2009.
77. [2008] CLJ 215-216, D. Beyleveld & R. Brownsword, Consent in the Law, OUP, 2007.
78. [2007] CLJ 237-238, Mark van Hoecke (ed.), Epistemology and Methodology of Comparative Law, Hart, 2004.
79. [2005] CLJ 503-504, Martin Loughlin, The Idea of Public Law, OUP, 2003.