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- Title
Privacy Versus Views: A Law and Economics Approach to Balancing Conflicting Urban Values.
- Authors
Counsell, Kevin
- Abstract
In 2015 the "Oriental Bay fence case" of Aitchison v Walmsley hit the New Zealand headlines. The widely publicised case centred on a conflict between neighbours in a Wellington hill suburb, with the Walmsleys having built a large fence-like structure to provide for their privacy, but which had the effect of obscuring the Aitchisons' panoramic views. While a long court process ensued, at heart it was a simple matter that many urban households could relate to: a conflict between competing urban values, of privacy versus views. This conflict illustrates the economic concept of externalities, which arise when one party's actions harm another party. Despite this harm often seeming to come from only one side, Aitchison v Walmsley shows the reciprocal nature of externalities. That is, externalities arise when two (or more) parties want to use the same scarce resource, but in inconsistent ways. In this case, while one party desires privacy, the other desires views. The question then is how such externality problems can best be resolved. Two principles from the field of law and economics assist in answering this. One, the Coase theorem, shows how externality problems can be resolved by private agreement between the relevant parties. The other, the Hobbes theorem, provides an approach when private agreement breaks down, and an authoritative third party, such as a court or government, is required to determine the outcome. Both approaches provide a strong conceptual foundation for robust legal and economic analysis that can balance conflicting values in a way that best benefits society.
- Subjects
RIGHT of privacy lawsuits; CONFLICT management; RIGHT of privacy; EXTERNALITIES; COASE theorem; LAW &; economics
- Publication
New Zealand Journal of Environmental Law, 2018, Vol 22, p147
- ISSN
1174-1538
- Publication type
Article