Restitution, proprietary claims and tracing

What is restitution?

Restitution in English law is a remedy that aims to restore to an innocent party the gains that someone else has obtained from him.

Restitution can be divided into two distinct categories (Sempra Metals Ltd v HMRC):

1. •

   restitution for unjust enrichment, and

2. •

   restitution for wrongdoing

Unjust enrichment

There are numerous situations in which a claim for unjust enrichment can be made including where a claimant has:

1. •

   paid the defendant money by mistake

2. •

   discharged a debt on behalf of another at the other’s insistence

3. •

   done work or provided goods to another where there was no contract

4. •

   rescinded an agreement or had an agreement rectified, but, as a result, money or assets wrongly remain in the hands of the other party

There are four basic elements to any claim for unjust enrichment:

1. •

   the defendant must have been enriched (the first requirement)

2. •

   the