The EU is committed to making the Single Market fit for the digital age, by enhancing the protection of consumers and data subjects, while providing businesses with the legal certainty they need to invest in this field and support growth and innovation. In this context, European Contract Law and the Digital Single Market, an edited collection consisting of carefully selected contributions by leading scholars, addresses the impact of digital technology on European Private Law in light of the latest legislative developments including the EU Regulation of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on free movement of such data, as well as the European Commission's proposals of 9 December 2015 for a Directive on the supply of digital content, for a Directive on online and other distance sale of goods and for a Regulation on the cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market. The book analyses new and urgent issues in the field of contract, data protection, copyright and private international law: namely the EU approach to personal information as a tradeable commodity and as the object of a fundamental right of the individuals concerned, the protection of consumers' and users' rights in contracts for the supply of digital content and on online and other distance sales of goods, the cross-border portability of online content services, the new features of standard contracts in the digital market and the issues surrounding the emergence of the so called platform economy.Written for both scholars and practitioners, this edited collection provides clear answers to the challenges posed by the digital revolution and acts as a solid basis for further developments of EU law.

The French projet d'ordonnance, which reformed contract law, the general regime of obligations and the proof of obligations appeared in February 2015. One year later, in February 2016, the final version of the ordonnance was published. The ordonnance thoroughly reforms French contract law and the law of obligations and will enter into force in October 2016.This book results from the Contract Law Workshop of the 20th Ius Commune Conference held 26-27 November 2015. The theme of this Workshop was: 'The French Contract Law Reform: a Source of Inspiration?' Since the conference in November 2015, all authors have incorporated comments on the final version of the ordonnance. Whereas Van Loock briefly sketches the antecedents and the outcome of the reform, the other authors each tackle specific topics of the reform that surprised and/or excited the legal community. Pannebakker tackles the precontractual phase and assesses the attractiveness of the reform for international commercial transactions. Peeraer gives a critical overview of the doctrine of nullity in the ordonnance. Leone explores the potential impact of the 'significant imbalance' test in the new ordonnance on employment contracts. In their contributions, Lutzi and Oosterhuis discuss the much-debated provision that introduces the theory of imprvision. The contributions by Jansen and Verkempinck are both focused on remedies: the newly introduced price reduction remedy and damages. Storme criticises the new rules on set-off in the ordonnance, and Mah addresses the question why the final version of the ordonnance omitted the issue of interpersonal effects of fundamental rights on contractual freedom.

This book analyses share purchase agreements governed by Belgian law used for company acquisitions, whereby a purchaser acquires control over a Belgian target company through the acquisition of a controlling shareholding. The object of such sale and purchase agreements is not a static, inanimate object, but consists of a shareholding in a company whose business and balance sheet evolve while the parties negotiate its acquisition.Such share purchase agreements and the negotiations leading up to them create a particular triangular interaction and relationship between the seller, the purchaser and the target company. These aspects make share purchase agreements different from, and often more complex than, sale and purchase agreements relating to other objects.The analysis set out in this book is written from a practitioner's perspective and focuses on the application of classic civil and corporate law concepts in the particular context of share purchase agreements. The theoretical background of all legal concepts is discussed and analysed, with due consideration for the practical relevance of the analysis.The reader is guided through the successive stages of a share purchase agreement. Each chapter includes a section containing sample clauses and concludes with an overview of relevant legislation, case law, legal doctrine and other sources of law.The book concludes with an index of the concepts used and a separate lexicon of the corresponding Belgian law terms in Dutch and French.

Technological and economical developments require contracting parties to be informed and advised: informed about the characteristics of the services or the goods they order; well advised about their choices and options; informed about the remedies that may be used against them; and well protected from the consequences of a lack of information or notification.This book analyses several aspects of these information and notification duties. It is the result of fruitful collaboration as part of the Ius Commune Research Schools Contract Law and Law of Obligations research programme. Information and notification duties were the theme of a contract law workshop during the 19th Ius Commune Conference in Edinburgh in November 2014. This book contains the proceedings of that workshop, with contributions by Sanne Jansen (Leuven), Johanna Waelkens (Leuven), Johan Vannerom (Leuven), Carien de Jager (Groningen), Joasia Luzak (Amsterdam), Gerard de Vries (Amsterdam), and Mark Kawakami and Catalina Goanta (Maastricht), with an introduction by Ilse Samoy (Leuven) and Marco B.M. Loos (Amsterdam).

This book analyses the theory of efficient breach in English sales law, European Union contract law and Chinese contract law. It analyses the framework of the efficient breach theory and reconsiders the implications of this theory. According to the traditional efficient breach theory, the remedy of expectation damages is able to motivate efficient breach, which brings the breaching party economic surplus without making the non-breaching party worse off. The essential problems are how to motivate contract parties to make rational decisions and how to solve cases where performance of a contract turns out to be less efficient after its conclusion. The second part of the book further extends the efficient breach theory to the study of contract law systems by analysing how exactly those laws react to breach and what solutions are adopted by them.The comparison of these three systems is more than a mere description of the differences and similarities in the content. More importantly, this comparative research also analyses whether or not the differences between these systems will influence the level of efficiency produced by each legal system by taking account of the different traditions and the concepts of contracts involved in each legal system. Researchers in contract law will also be interested in this approach, particularly for re-thinking the question of whether one legal system is definitely better or worse than the other two.

This book charts the significant increase in Britain over the last 25 years in the deployment of contract as a regulatory mechanism across a broad spectrum of social relationships. Since Labour came to power in 1997 the trend has accelerated, the use of contract spreading beyond the sphere of economics into public administration and social policy. The 'new public contracting' is the term given this distinctive mode of governance, characterized by the delegation of contractual powers and responsibilities to public agencies in regulatory frameworks preserving central government controls and powers of intervention. In many cases the contracts are not legally enforceable, their power as regulatory instruments deriving from the hierarchical authority relations in which they are embedded. Examples of the new public contracting include the regulation of relationships between government departments through Public Service Agreements and Framework Documents; the regulation of relationships between individual citizens and the state through Youth Offender Contracts, Parenting Contracts, and Jobseekers Agreements; the funding of public infrastructure projects through Public Private Partnerships; and the restructuring of key public service sectors such as health, social care and education through contracts in competitive quasi-markets, reflecting the Government's privatization agenda. The book critically analyzes and evaluates such contractual arrangements with reference to theories of relational contract and responsive regulation. It argues that while in business and other private relations contract routinely enables the parties to regulate and adjust their on-going relationships to mutual benefit, this is often not the case in the new public contracting. In many instances crucial elements of trust, voluntariness, and reciprocity are shown to be lacking. This and other weaknesses in regulatory design are likely to impede the attainment of the Government's policy objectives. The book demonstrates the problems of ineffectiveness and lack of legitimacy generally associated with this mode of regulation, and specifies institutional and other conditions that need to be satisfied for the more responsive governance of these public service functions.

The Law Commission (of England and Wales) and the Scottish Law Commission were both established in 1965 to promote the reform of the laws of their respective jurisdictions. Since then, they have each produced hundreds of reports across many areas of law. They are independent of government yet rely on governmental funding and governmental approval of their proposed projects. They also rely on both government and Parliament (and, occasionally, the courts or other bodies) to implement their proposals. This book examines the tension between independence and implementation and recommends how a balance can best be struck. It proposes how the Commissions should choose their projects given that their duties outweigh their resources, and how we should assess the success, or otherwise, of their output. Countries around the world have created law reform bodies in the Commissions' image. They may wish to reflect on the GB Commissions' responses to the changes and challenges they have faced to reappraise their own law reform machinery. Equally, the GB Commissions may seek inspiration from other commissions' experiences. The world the GB Commissions inhabit now is very different from when they were established. They have evolved to remain relevant in the face of devolution, the UK's changing relationship with the European Union, increasing pressure for accountability and decreasing funding. Further changes to secure the future of independent law reform are advanced in this book.

Ideas are the fuel of industry and the entertainment business. Likewise, manufacturers receive suggestions for new products or improvements to existing products, and retailers frequently receive ideas for new marketing campaigns. Many ideas are not new and may be used by anyone without the risk of incurring any legal liability, but some ideas are novel and valuable. If the originator of a potentially useful idea does not have the financial resources to exploit the idea, he or she may submit it to another, with the expectation of receiving compensation if the idea is used. Although an extensive body of intellectual property law exists to protect the rights of inventors, authors, and businesses that own valuable brands or confidential proprietary information, raw ideas receive no protection. Nevertheless, the originator of a potentially useful and marketable idea is not without legal recourse. The courts have developed, through a long line of common law precedents, legal protection for novel and concrete ideas under certain circumstances. The originator of an idea can rely on contract law, whereby the recipient may expressly or impliedly agree to pay for the idea. Alternatively, if the idea is disclosed in confidence, its unauthorized use by the recipient allows the originator of the idea to recover compensation. Finally, some courts have treated the ownership of ideas as quasi-property rights.

This collection of essays provides a rich and contemporary discussion of the principle of pacta sunt servanda. This principle, which requires that valid agreements are to be honoured, is a cornerstone of contract law. Focusing on contributions from Asia, this book shows that, despite its natural and universal appeal, the pacta sunt servanda principle is neither absolute nor immutable. Exceptions to the binding force of contract must be available in limited circumstances to avoid hardship and unfairness. This book offers readers new comparative perspectives on the appropriate balance between contractual certainty and flexibility in an era of social instability. Expert authors, mostly from East and Southeast Asia, explore when their domestic legal systems allow exceptions from the binding force of contracts. Doctrines discussed include impossibility, frustration, change of circumstance, force majeure, illegality as well as rights of withdrawal. Other chapters consider the importance of the pacta principle in international law. The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic feature strongly in the majority of contributions.

In its case law, the European Court of Human Rights has acknowledged that national courts are bound to give effect to Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) which sets out the right to private and family life, when they rule on controversies between private individuals. Article 8 of the ECHR has thus been accorded mittelbare Drittwirkung or indirect a ~third-partya (TM) effect in private law relationships.

The German law of privacy, centring on the "allgemeines PersAnlichkeitsrecht," has quite a long history, and the influence of the European Court of Human Rightsa (TM) interpretation of the ECHR has led to a strengthening of privacy protection in the German law. This book considers how English courts could possibly use and adapt structures adopted by the German legal order in response to rulings from the European Court of Human Rights, to strengthen the protection of privacy in the private sphere.

This book is a collection of articles based on Understanding Unjust Enrichment,a symposium held at the University of Western Ontario in January 2003. The articles, written from the perspective of English, Australian, Canadian, German and Jewish law, deal with numerous theoretical and practical issues that surround restitution and unjust enrichment. The articles outline recent developments across the Commonwealth, explain the unjust enrichment principle and its component parts, and address discrete issues such as tracing, choice of law, disgorgement damages for breach of contract, and the use of unjust enrichment in the cohabitation context. The contributors are Kit Barker, Peter Benson, Jeffrey Berryman, Michael Bryan, Andrew Burrows, Robert Chambers, Gerald Fridman, Peter Jaffey, Dennis Klimchuk, Thomas Krebs, John McCamus, Mitchell McInnes, Stephen Pitel, Stephen Waddams and Ernest Weinrib.

There is an urgent need to better understand the legal issues pertaining to alternative dispute resolution (ADR), particularly in relation to mediation clauses. Despite the promotion of mediation by dispute resolution providers, policy makers, and judges, use of mediation remains low. In particular, problems arise when parties lack certainty regarding the legal effect of a mediation clause, and the potential uncertainty regarding the binding nature of agreements to pursue mediation is problematic and threatens the growth of ADR. This book closely examines the importance and complexity of mediation clauses in commercial contracts to remedy this persistent uncertainty. Using comparative law methods and detailed empirical research, it explores the creation of a comprehensive framework for the mediation clause. Providing valuable insight into the process of ADR and mediation, this book will be of interest to academics, law makers, law students, in-house council, lawyers, as well as parties interesting in drafting enforceable mediation clauses.

Everything you need from your Contract Law textbook in one leading text. Elliott & Quinn's Contract Law, 12th edition is the leading text for law students, coming from an expert author team known for making the subject easy to understand without compromising on academic rigour. This accessible textbook provides a straightforward coverage of the fundamental legal principles of the subject. It also presents an in-depth discussion of all key cases and their principles, prompting you to practice and apply them to exam-style questions, giving you the opportunity to understand how the law operates in the real world. The book also encourages you to develop your own views on the effectiveness of the current laws and get an overview of future reform options. The latest edition also includes: A new 'The Bigger Picture' feature that highlights the legal issues behind high-profile news stories, helping you to see the real-world application of the law. New essay and problem questions, with answer guidance also available online to support your revision. Revamped end of chapter summaries, for easy revision. Free access to a companion website with additional resources to support your study, available at www.pearsoned.co.uk/elliottquinn. With a plethora of useful study features and case examples, this text offers the knowledge and support you need to excel in your course.

Much construction work is done by sub--contractors, particularly the so--called domestic sub--contractors, appointed by the main contractor. The former usually work under the standard sub--contract DOM/1 for use with JCT 80, or DOM/2 for use with JCT 81----where there is contract design. Unfortunately, many sub--contractorsa rights are often abused because they have little or no understanding of their rights and obligations under the new contracts. Written by an experienced quantity surveyor, this new book provides a clause--by--clause summary of these important principles.

Consumers routinely enter into long-term contracts with providers of goods and services - from credit cards, mortgages, cell phones, insurance, TV, and internet services to household appliances, theatre and sports events, health clubs, magazine subscriptions, transportation, and more. Across these consumer markets certain design features of contracts are recurrent, and puzzling. Why do sellers design contracts to provide short-term benefits and impose long-term costs? Why are low introductory prices so common? Why are the contracts themselves so complex, with numerous fees and interest rates, tariffs and penalties?
Seduction by Contract explains how consumer contracts emerge from the interaction between market forces and consumer psychology. Consumers are short-sighted and optimistic, so sellers compete to offer short-term benefits, while imposing long-term costs. Consumers are imperfectly rational, so sellers hide the true costs of products and services in complex contracts. Consumers are seduced by contracts that increase perceived benefits, without actually providing more benefits, and decrease perceived costs, without actually reducing the costs that consumers ultimately bear.
Competition does not help this behavioural market failure. It may even exacerbate it. Sellers, operating in a competitive market, have no choice but to align contract design with the psychology of consumers. A high-road seller who offers what she knows to be the best contract will lose business to the low-road seller who offers what the consumer mistakenly believes to be the best contract. Put bluntly, competition forces sellers to exploit the biases and misperceptions of their customers.
Seduction by Contract argues that better legal policy can help consumers and enhance market efficiency. Disclosure mandates provide a promising avenue for regulatory intervention. Simple, aggregate disclosures can help consumers make better choices. Comprehensive disclosures can facilitate the work of intermediaries, enabling them to better advise consumers. Effective disclosure would expose the seductive nature of consumer contracts and, as a result, reduce sellers' incentives to write inefficient contracts.
Developing its explanation through a general framework and detailed case studies of three major consumer markets (credit cards, mortgages, and cell phones), Seduction by Contract is an accessible introduction to the law and economics of consumer contracts, and a powerful critique of current regulatory policy.

This text reviews and analyzes how all parties to the construction process, from specialist sub-contractors and main contractors, to developers and funders and their respective lawyers, have adapted to the changes in the construction industry. There is advice on claims practice and tactics, how to minimize the finacial risks of pursuing a claim and what the courts or arbitrators expect both parties to have done to resolve the dispute.

First Published in 2000. Where a well-run society should rest on the continuum between public and private control has been the most contentious and thorny issue of legal and social theory throughout the generations. This series sets out to provide answers to this ongoing dispute contained in the five volumes of material assembled. The collection draws from many disciplines, including economics, law, philosophy and political science. Yet they are all directed to a topic that is worthy of examination from multiple perspectives: Liberty, Property and the Law.

The Joint Contracts Tribunal's Standard Form of Building Contract is the most common contract used in the UK to procure building work. Understanding it is a core part of any construction student's degree and a vital part of the working life of professionals in the construction industry. 'The JCT98 Building Contract' works through the contract systematically explaining it in easy-to-follow language, covering all contract issues thoroughly and illustrating with case law examples the current situation and latest amendments. It is ideal reading for both the student of construction and the professional seeking to update their knowledge.

Liquidated damages and extensions of time are complex subjects, frequently forming the basis of contract claims made under the standard building and civil engineering contracts. Previous editions of Liquidated Damages and Extensions of Time are highly regarded as a guide for both construction industry professionals and lawyers to this complex area.
The law on time and damages continues to develop with an increasing flow of judgments from the courts. Alongside this, the standard forms of contract have also developed over time to reflect prevailing approaches to contractual relationships. Against this background a third edition will be welcomed by construction professionals and lawyers alike. Retaining the overall approach of the previous editions, the author clarifies, in a highly readable but legally rigorous way, the many misunderstandings on time and damages which abound in the construction industry. The third edition takes account of a large volume of new case law since the previous edition was published over ten years ago, includes a new chapter on delay analysis and features significantly expanded chapters on penalty clauses, the effects of conditions precedent and time-bars, and the complexities of causation.

Tunnelling is a high risk business. Success depends crucially on the nature of the ground through which the tunnel is being driven. The cost of a thorough site investigation is usually only a small fraction of the cost of the construction work but this crucial phase of a project is often given too low a priority. This text provides a review of tunnelling contracts, particularly those for sewerage and drainage tunnels. It reviews site investigation methods, contract preparation and tender evaluation, tunnel costruction, claims and records, and the post-construction phase. Examples of good and bad practice of site investigation and other aspects of tunnelling are given, and the text is supported by over 500 references. Supplementary information in the second part of the book expands on particular aspects such as ground vibration and noise. Among other topics covered are quality assurance, rock properties and testing, pollution, permeability and dewatering.

In August 2006, the third Australian Obligations Conference was hosted in Brisbane by the TC Beirne School of Law. The theme of the Conference was Justifying Private Law Remedies. This book contains a number of the papers delivered at that Conference, presented under several categories but all dealing with the fundamental issue of justification: General Concepts; Performance; Compensation; Punishment; and Restitution and Disgorgement.The authors are largely drawn from the legal academy, and include Canadian, Australian, British and New Zealand scholars. The collection will be of interest to all those concerned with the role, nature and place of remedies in the private law of the common law world.This book examines the wider role and function of the law of remedies. The contributors are leading scholars from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Britain. It will be of interest to contract, tort and restitution law scholars.

This work examines in detail the English doctrine of anticipatory breach, a hugely important subject in terms of both contract theory and commercial practice. It fills a significant gap in the existing literature with a comprehensive, systematic and in-depth treatment of the subject. The book not only restates the doctrine of anticipatory breach but also rejuvenates it, developing the proposition that the doctrine is essentially a mechanism for sanctioning present contractual remedies for future breaches. This proposition is developed in four parts consisting of nine chapters, which cover between them various aspects of the doctrine of anticipatory breach: historical genesis, theoretical characterisations, terminology, the constitution of an anticipatory breach, the defence of anticipated breach, the principle of election, the peculiarities of a right to claim damages, the assessment of damages, the victim's ability to continue with its performance and to claim the contract price when it is due, etc. Above all the book presents a carefully engineered critical review of the doctrine of anticipatory breach as it stands, challenging the misconceptions with which it was historically associated, the obscurity and precariousness of its theoretical foundation and the resulting inconsistency and inflexibility in its application. Instead, the author argues for a reformulation which follows a more rational, coherent and refined theoretical framework. This book is written in clear, straightforward language, and will appeal to academics, practitioners and law students alike.

Written with the busy practitioner in mind, this concise and insightful book sets out the principles that guide the courts in interpreting contracts. Each principle is covered in its own dedicated chapter, supported by case law which illustrates how the principle works in practice and in its wider context. In addition to interpretation of contracts, the book also considers the implication of terms, rectification, and estoppel by convention. This new edition considers the implications of key decisions of the Supreme Court in Arnold v Britton and Marks & Spencer v BNP Paribas, and BNY Mellon v LBG Capital. Other writing, including from judges writing extra-judicially, is also analysed. This book provides an invaluable reference for lawyers drafting, interpreting and litigating on contracts.

Private law governs our most pervasive relationships with other people: the wrongs we do to one another, the property we own and exclude from others' use, the contracts we make and break, and the benefits realized at another's expense that we cannot justly retain. The major rules of private law are well known, but how they are organized, explained, and justified is a matter of fierce debate by lawyers, economists, and philosophers. Ernest Weinrib made a seminal contribution to the understanding of private law with his first book, The Idea of Private Law. In it, he argued that there is a special morality intrinsic to private law: the morality of corrective justice. By understanding the nature of corrective justice we understand the purpose of private law - which is simply to be private law. In this book Weinrib takes up and develops his account of corrective justice, its nature, and its role in understanding the law. He begins by setting out the conceptual components of corrective justice, drawing a model of a moral relationship between two equals and the rights and duties that exist between them. He then explains the significance of corrective justice for various legal contexts: for the grounds of liability in negligence, contract, and unjust enrichment; for the relationship between right and remedy; for legal education; for the comparative understanding of private law; and for the compatibility of corrective justice with state support for the poor. Combining legal and philosophical analysis, Corrective Justice integrates a concrete and wide-ranging treatment of legal doctrine with a unitary and comprehensive set of theoretical ideas. Alongside the revised edition of The Idea of Private Law, it is essential reading for all academics, lawyers, and students engaged in understanding the foundations of private law.