With these words William Blackstone introduced readers of the Commentaries on the Laws of England to the topic of private wrongs. Blackstone did not offer a definition of private law, nor is such a definition to be found in any authoritative source. Anglo-American law has claimed many merits, but linguistic and conceptual precision are not among them. Private law, as the term is used in this study, is concerned principally with the mutual rights and obligations of individuals.Like other legal concepts, the term takes its meaning partly from what it excludes, notably public international law, constitutional law, local government law, administrative law, criminal law, military law, and taxation.

Many attempts have been made to explain the relation to each other of categories (organizing divisions) and concepts (recurring ideas) in private law, leading, since Blackstone's time, to a great variety of suggested maps, schemes, and diagrams; none of these has commanded general assent or has fully explained the actual decisions of the courts. In this study a number of legal issues will be examined in which the interrelation of fundamental concepts has been crucial.