Evaluating the law of contract

Overview

Recall questions on criticisms of offer and acceptance, consideration and Pinnel's Case, intention to create legal relations, contract terms and exclusion clauses, inequality of bargaining power and damages, reform proposals, and arguments that contract law works well.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Give one criticism of the rules on offer and acceptance.

   Model answer

   The postal rule was designed for a slower age and sits awkwardly with instantaneous electronic communication.

2. 2

   Give one criticism of the doctrine of consideration.

   Model answer

   The rule that past consideration is no consideration can defeat agreements the parties plainly intended to be binding.

3. 3

   What is the main criticism of the rule in Pinnel's Case?

   Model answer

   That part payment of a debt discharges nothing produces injustice, which is why promissory estoppel had to be developed around it.

4. 4

   Give one criticism of the law on contract terms.

   Model answer

   The line between a condition, a warranty and an innominate term is often only settled after the breach, which undermines certainty.

5. 5

   Why is the treatment of exclusion clauses said to be complex?

   Model answer

   Control is split between common law incorporation rules, the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which apply differently to consumers and businesses.

6. 6

   Give one reform proposal for the law of contract.

   Model answer

   Codification of contract law into a single statute, so the rules are accessible rather than scattered across cases and several Acts.

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