Peter Handford

Peter has been a member of the editorial board of the Tort Law Review since 1993. He was the Executive Officer and Director of Research of the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia between 1983 and 1998, and in that capacity was the author of reports on limitation of actions, wills, probate, spent convictions, Police Act offences and sale of goods. He was also a member of the Commission between 1993 and 1995. Between 1995 and 1997 he was the Western Australian representative on the Uniform Succession Law National Project Committee, and between 2004 and 2019 was a member of the Attorney General's Working Group reviewing the law of succession in Western Australia.

Peter is a member of the Francis Burt Law Education Programme Advisory Committee, and the chair of the sub-committee responsible for the oral history programmee and the Old Court House Museum. The Francis Burt Law Education Programme provides community legal education programmes and promotes the community's understanding of the law and the legal system.

Peter is currently writing a History of the UWA Law School scheduled for publication when the Law School reaches its centenary. As part of his long-standing interest in tort liability for psychiatric injury, he is researching the background of the first nervous shock case - Victorian Railways Commissioners v Coultas (1888).

Peter's major research interests lie in the field of torts, in particular liability for psychiatric injury, limitation of actions, legal history and law reform.

He also has a special interest in comparative law, both generally and in relation to torts in particular.

Recent research projects include
Prosecuting crime in 19th century Western Australia - articles published in (2018) 43 University of Western Australia Law Review 143 and 'Early Days' (Journal of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society) No 103 (2019) 17.

Limitation of actions and sexual abuse - analysis of recent legislative changes and other recent developments in limitation of actions law, to be published as part of 'The Laws of Australia' in 2021.