Contract law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Contract honor - Essay ExampleIn the formation f contracts twain elements atomic number 18 vital. Firstly, the offer, an indication by one person prep ard to contract with anformer(a), on certain terms, which are fixed, or capable f being fixed at the time the offer is do. Secondly, thither must(prenominal) be an acceptance, an unconditional assent to a definite offer.2 These two combine to create inference that a contract has been formed, for, as in Scammell v Ouston (1941),3 if an harmony is uncertain on some grave issue.the courts will hold there is no contract.4 Following this, the elements f consideration and intent provide the contracts physical structure and substance5So, what is meant by consideration and the intention to create legal relations English law normally requires prof that the parties have made a bargain, or agreement, 6 this is known as the benefit and detriment test. (Currie v Misa (1875) 7 or a benefit to one party or a detriment to a nonher.8 So, in p ragmatical terms consideration can be defined as what one party in an agreement is giving, or promising, in exchange for what is being given, or boded, by the other side. 9 This provides mutuality, making the contract enforceable. The Oxford lexicon f Law definition states, Consideration is essential to the validity f any contract other than one made by deed. Without consideration an agreement non made by deed is not hold fast it is a nudum pactum (naked agreement) governed by the maxim ex nudo pacto non oritur action (a right f action does not arise out f a naked agreement.)10 English law does not rely on formalities as a way f identifying intention to create a legally binding contract. Instead it focuses on offer, acceptance and consideration. 11 If these are present, and unless rebutted by contrary evidence, courts operate on the basis f two legal presumptions, that there is no intention to be bound in domestic or social arrangements, but there is intention to be bound in com mercial agreements. 12 Professor B.A.Hepple claims that there is no need f a separate requirement f intention, and that a bargain, involving mutuality is sufficient. These views are not generally accepted as it is widely agreed that identifying the parties intentions is essential to the role f the courts when establishing if a contract was made. 13It is useful to look at why English law has become so reliant on the consideration element f a contract, and why it has frequently been employ as the badge f enforceability,14 Professor Atiyah argues that consideration originally meant a reason for enforcing an agreement.15 Early forms f contract law mainly involved agreements regarding debt, covenant, or detinue ie., wrongful detention f property, and were only binding if under seal. This method, which require a degree f form such as writing or a deed, was employ to prevent fraud and proved that there was an intention to create legal relations. Consideration was first used in the sixte enth century when, in order to enforce informal agreements, the law f assumsit was developed.16 So, eyepatch that the law would, ...still not enforce merely gratuitous promises, ... the law had to develop an element that could distinguish mingled with a proper contractual agreement, and something less that would not.17Due to the Law f Property Miscellaneous pabulum Act 1989, form is still required for contracts involving the sale f land. It is also used to offer consumers shelter in hire purchase and consumer credit agreements. In the English Common law system, a promise is not legally binding as part f a contract except if it is made in a deed or supported by some consideration. 18 Sir Guenter Treitel Q.C.,