Download Summary: Australian Contract Law Reform and more Summaries Contract Law in PDF only on Docsity! Summary: Australian Contract Law Reform Why is contract law important? Efficient and just systems of contract law play a central role in successful economies. Contract law increases people’s autonomy by allowing them to make enforceable agreements, and supports economic growth by giving businesses and individuals the stability and predictability they need to trade and invest. Contract law also upholds basic standards of fairness in people’s dealings with each other. Why is the Government thinking about reforming contract law? Australia’s system of contract law is derived from a mixture of different sources. It is primarily made up of common law rules and equitable principles which are developed by judicial decisions in individual cases. The basic common law rules are derived from English law. Many date back centuries. Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation has supplemented and, in some cases, altered these judge-made rules. Although the common law rules are the same throughout Australia, non-uniform State and Territory legislation means that some areas of contract law vary in different jurisdictions. In some situations, international instruments may also be relevant. Australia’s system of contract law performs well by international standards. However, this is no reason for complacency. There may be significant room for improvement. Reform may offer the opportunity to: increase the accessibility of contract law improve the certainty of the law in those areas which are unclear or unsettled simplify the law and remove unnecessarily technical rules set basic standards of acceptable conduct support innovation and new ways of doing business maximise participation in the digital economy ensure that contract law meets the needs of small and medium-sized businesses facilitate elasticity and flexibility to help support long-term contractual relationships harmonise statute law applying in the different States and Territories, and internationalise the law to facilitate cross-border trade and investment. What are some potential problems with our current system of contract law? The complex relationship between common law, equity and legislation and the large number of cases and statutes involved may make it difficult to discover the applicable law or to predict the outcome of a particular case. Some important issues—such as what material can be used when interpreting written contracts—remain unsettled. Contract law also may need to adapt to new technologies and ways of doing business, such as electronic contracting.
