Download Introduction to Contract Law - Fundamentals of Law - Lecture Slides and more Slides Law in PDF only on Docsity! Introduction to Contract Law A contract can be defined as: • “An agreement concerning promises made between two or more parties with the intention of creating certain legal rights and obligations upon the parties to that agreement which shall be enforceable in a court of law.” • An agreement is NOT necessarily a contract because it may lack one of the principles governing contractual relations, e.g. intention, consideration, legality. Docsity.com Sources of contract law Contract law in Australia is derived from: – common law • developed in the English common law courts i.e. case law decisions – legislation • such as the Statute of Frauds 1677 (Imp) and much later Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation which amended or supplemented the common law rules. Docsity.com Classification of contracts • A formal or a simple contract? Contracts Formal Contracts Simple Contracts Contracts of record (e.g. court records) Contracts under seal (e.g. deeds, gratuitous promises) In writing Evidenced in Writing No requirements Docsity.com Classification of contracts • Formal contracts – may not be the result of agreement or require consideration – validity comes from form alone, e.g. contracts of record and contracts under seal • Simple contracts – if it is not a formal contract, it must be a simple contract – consideration must be present – subject to statutory requirements, contracts can be oral, in writing, or a combination of these 2 forms Docsity.com Elements in a simple contract Essential elements in a simple contract Docsity.com Classification of contracts • Contracts are classified according to: – promise; – enforceability; – performance; and – formation. Docsity.com Classification of contracts According to promise: • Depending on what the offeree must do to accept the offeror’s offer, contracts may be classified as: – bilateral – both parties have to perform their promises, i.e. ‘a promise for a promise’; or – unilateral – the offeror still has to perform their part of the bargain, i.e. ‘it is a promise for an act’. Docsity.com Classification of contracts According to enforceability: – Valid – a contract which the law will enforce – Voidable – the contract remains valid and binding unless and until it is repudiated by the injured party – Void – no legal rights or obligations from the outset (void ab initio) – Unenforceable – valid on its face but no legal action can be brought on the contract, often because of a procedural defect – Illegal – the purpose of the contract contravenes a statute or the common law, and generally treated as void Docsity.com
