Recently the contract section of the German Civil Code was amended after one hundred years of un-altered existence. The German Law of Contract, radically recast, enlarged, and re-written since its first edition, now details and explains for the first time these changes for the benefit of Anglophone lawyers. One hundred and twenty translated contract decisions also make this work a unique source-book for students, academics, and practitioners. Along with its companion volume, The German Law of Torts, the two volumes provide one of the fullest accounts of the German Law of Obligations available in the English language. Through its method of presentation of German law, the book represents an original contribution to the art of comparison. An additional feature of the Contract volume is the way in which it reveals the growing impact which European Directives are having upon the traditional, liberal, contract model, thereby bringing German and English law closer to each other, especially in the area of consumer protection.

This is the paperback edition of a book first published in 2003, which was received with warmth and critical acclaim by scholars of jurisprudence and contract theory. Liberal theory of contract is traditionally associated with the view according to which contract law can be explained simply as a mechanism for the enforcement of promises. The book bucks this trend by offering a theory of contract law based on a careful philosophical investigation of not only the similarities, but also the much-overlooked differences between contract and promise. Drawing on an analysis of a range of issues pertaining to the moral underpinnings of promissory and contractual obligations, the relationships in the context of which they typically feature, and the nature of the legal and moral institutions that support them, the book argues for the abandonment of the over-simplified notion that the law can systematically replicate existing moral or social institutions or simply enforce the rights or the obligations to which they give rise, without altering these institutions in the process and while leaving their intrinsic qualities intact. In its place the book offers an intriguing thesis concerning not only the relationship between contract and promise, but also the distinct functions and values that underlie contract law and explain contractual obligation. In turn, this thesis is shown to have an important bearing on theoretical and practical issues such as the choice of remedy for breach of contract, and broader concerns of political morality such as the appropriate scope of the freedom of contract and the role of the state in shaping and regulating contractual activity. The book's arguments on such issues, while rooted in distinctly liberal principles of political morality, often produce very different conclusions to those traditionally associated with liberal theory of contract, thus lending it a new lease of life in the face of its traditional as well as contemporary critiques.

General clauses or standards (Generalklauseln, clauses generales) are legal rules which are not precisely formulated, terms and concepts which in fact do not even have a clear core. They are often applied in varying degrees in various legal systems to a rather wide range of contract cases when certain issues arise - issues such as abuse of rights, unfairness, good faith, fairness of duty or loyalty or honesty, duty of care, and other such contract terms not lending themselves readily to clear or permanent definition. Here, for the first time, is a systematic discussion of this kind of rule in the evolving and dynamic context of European contract law. A collection of twelve insightful essays by leading European law authorities, the book is based on a conference organized jointly by the Society of European Contract Law (SECOLA) and l'Association Henri Capitant, held in the 'grande salle' of the French Supreme Court in Paris in 2005. The subject is approached along three distinct but interconnected avenues: comparative contract law, in which the different models to be found among Member States - particularly the Germanic, French, and English common law systems - are explored with an eye to differences and common ground; EC contract law, in which the general clause approach has tended to focus on labour law and consumer law, and in which the European Court of Justice more and more assumes the final say; and, the European codification dimension, in which a potential instrument on the European level would compete with national laws and develop closely with them. The authors demonstrate that a focus on general clauses in contract law, embracing as it does a wide range of types of contracts, helps enormously with the necessary integration of legal scholarship and economic approaches, and of legal science and legal practice in the field. Numerous analytic references to relevant cases and EC Directives give a practical impetus to the far-reaching but immediately applicable theory presented in this important book. As European contract law continues to develop rapidly, this seminal contribution is sure to increase in value and usefulness.

This is the third book in the 'Ius Commune Casebooks for the Common Law of Europe' series,developed for use throughout Europe and aimed at those who teach, learn or practice law with a comparative or European perspective. The book contains excerpts from legal commentaries, leading cases and legislation from the main legal traditions within Europe (English, French and German law), as well as the Netherlands, but also relying on the contribution of mixed legal systems such as those of Scotland and South Africa. Unjustified Enrichment concerns the law of restitution and contains a wide selection of extracts from the basic texts and commentaries. The materials are chosen and ordered so as to foster comparative study, prefaced by comparative introductions and complemented with annotations prepared by a multinational team. The whole Casebook is in English.

This collection of essays, derived from an international workshop, explores the significance of implicit understandings and tacit expectations of the parties to different kinds of contractual agreements, ranging from simple discrete transactions to long-term associational agreements such as those formed in companies. An interdisciplinary and comparative approach is used to investigate how the law comprehends and gives effect to the these implicit dimensions of contracts. The significance of this enquiry is found not only in relation to the interpretation of contracts in many different contexts, but more fundamentally in how social practices involved in making contracts should be analysed and comprehended.

NEW in paperback From the Reviews of the hardback edition: This is a fascinating and thought-provoking collection of eight essays...Taken together they represent a coherent and compelling exposition of the English law of obligations...One is left with the picture of an [author] ...who remains a devotee of "practical scholarship" and the deductive technique of the common law and has a grasp on its intricacies second to non." Edwin Peel, The Law Quarterly Review, 1999 "[These essays], all concerned with various aspects of contract, tort and unjust enrichment, are a pleasure to peruse, and a distinct cut above the usual lacklustre collection of past triumphs now beyond their sell-by date. Without exception they are both topical and relevant: ...together they form a readable, scholarly and eclectic mixture of exposition and polemic, of speculation and analysis" Andrew Tettenborn, The Cambridge Law Journal, 1999 "..quite simply the most convincing and complete explanation of the law of obligations that is currently available - the book is thorough, compelling, definitive, and highly important." Paul Kearns, Anglo-American Law Review, 1999 "an extremely important work, produced by a leading academic." David Wright, Adelaide Law Review

When does the law permit you to change your mind and reverse a decision you have made? In this masterful book, one of the foremost authorities on American contract law considers the general principles and legal rules that bear on this question. Drawing on many fields-contracts, torts, property, trusts, wills, agency, and even family law and procedure-E. Allan Farnsworth identifies and discusses six such principles. Using real legal cases as well as an array of nonlegal sources ranging from Rousseau and Martin Luther to Shirley MacLaine and Willie Nelson, Farnsworth illustrates the importance of the principles that govern the irrevocability of a commitment (as by a promise) and the irreversibility of a relinquishment (as by a gift) or preclusion (as by prescription). He discusses deficiencies in the law-such as the preoccupation with the reliance principle, the neglect of other principles, the propensity to find promise, and the tendency toward legal paternalism-and offers suggestions to eliminate anomalies, correct shortcomings, and further the rationalization of the legal concepts that pertain to regretted decisions.

Good faith is already a familiar concept in international commercial law and a recognised principle of substantive law in several major legal systems. In the United Kingdom,however, a role for good faith and, more fundamentally, the issue of whether or not there ought to be a general principle of good faith informing English and Scots contract and property law, are still matters for debate. This book, containing the papers delivered at the Symposium on Good Faith in Contract and Property Law held in Aberdeen University in October 1998, engages in that critical debate. While its central core reflects on good faith from the perspective of a mixed legal system (Scots Law), papers on good faith from an English and European perspective locate the debate, properly, within a broader jurisdictional context.

For most writers, negotiating the legal maze of publishing is as challenging as getting their words in print. This comprehensive guide offers writers solid advice on all aspects of publishing law. Candid and readable, it cover everything from copyrights and taxes to libel laws, subsidiary rights, and the obscure clauses in publisher's contracts. As important resource for editors, agents, or anyone in print or electronic publishing, this updated third edition of "The Writer's Legal Companion" features essential, irreplacable information on: publishing contracts, good and bad clauses libel, slander, and invasion of privacy issues electronic rights conditions the business of publishing, including marketing and selling books magazine publishing collaboration and agents' agreements federal income tax considerations for freelance writers copyright legalities Whether you write an occasional magazine article or publish a new book every year, The Writers Legal Companion will save you time, and reduce you anxiety over the business of publishing.

These essays, first delivered at the SPTL/UKNCCL conference in September 1996, offer a scholarly and practical analysis of the consequences of contractual failure. The contributors include many of the UK's leading contract and restitution law scholars, joined by a select number of French and German compartists. The essays range broadly over all aspects of contractual failure, including the issue of loss and gain, remedies for breach, the proprietary consequences, restitution in EU law under Article 85 (EC), the duty to re-negotiate, contractual liability, as well as more general restitutionary issues. Contributors: Malcolm Clarke; Gerhard Dannemann; Brice Dickson; Steve Hedley; Alison Jones; Christian Lapoyade Deschamps; Hector MacQueen; Richard Nolan; Janet O'Sullivan; Edwin Peel; Geoffrey Samuel; Erich Schanze; Eltjo Schrage; John Stevens; Robert Stevens; Felicity Toube; Janet Ulph; Peter Watts; Sarah Worthington.

This text argues that private contracts would allow for more and genuine consumer choice, based on real differences between competing health plans in content, mixture and cost of services. It further argues that contracts would establish set standards and obligations for all parties.

The authors relate current arguments to traditional ideas of republicanism and democracy and compare them with the Revolution, Civil War, and civil rights and suffrage movements.

The phrase 'sanctity of contracts' implies that contracts should always be strictly enforced. But when this objective is relentlessly implemented ruinous burdens are sometimes imposed on one party and extravagant enrichments conferred on the other. Despite recognition of the need to control highly unreasonable contracts in various particular contexts, there remain many instances in which the courts have refused to modify unreasonable contracts, sometimes with extravagant results that are avowedly 'grotesque'. In the computer age assent may be inferred from a click on a screen in the absence of any real agreement to the terms, which are often very burdensome to the user. In this book, arguments are advanced in favour of recognition of a general judicial power to relieve against highly unreasonable contracts, not only for the benefit of the disadvantaged party, but for the avoidance of unjust enrichment, and for the avoidance of anomalous gaps in the law.

Written by the leading expert in the field, The Oxford Introductions to U.S. Law: Contracts provides students with ready access to the basic doctrines of contract law, the story behind their evolution, and the rationales for their continued existence. An engaging book that allows students to grasp the "big picture" of contract law, it is organized around the principle that lies at the heart of contracts: consent. Beginning with the premise of "consent," the book provides a cohesive framework in which to understand the various aspects of contract law.

In diesem Werk wird die vorweggenommene Unternehmensnachfolge unter Ruckforderungsvorbehalt einschliesslich ihrer Form- und Zustimmungsbedurftigkeit aus zivilrechtlicher Sicht umfassend betrachtet. Dabei nimmt der Autor insbesondere auch die Pflichtteilserganzungsrelevanz der unentgeltlichen Unternehmensnachfolge unter Ruckforderungsvorbehalt in den Blick.

Delay in the Performance of Contractual Obligations remains the leading practitioner work on the subject and includes consideration of variations in practice in different sectors. There are many new cases reflected in this new edition. Those of particular relevance to delay in the House of Lords, Supreme Court and Privy Council include Sentinel International Ltd v Cordes (2008) on notices making time of the essence, The Achilleas (2007) on remoteness of damage, The New Flamenco (2017) on mitigation, Sempra Metals Ltd v Inland Revenue Commissioners (2007) on the award of interest on damages, White v Riverside Housing Association Ltd (2007) on rent review, and Makdessi v Cavendish Square Holdings BV (2015) on the penalty doctrine. Those in the Court of Appeal include British Overseas Bank Nominees Ltd v Analytical Properties Ltd (2015) on conditions precedent and the order of performance, The Arctic III (2016) on indemnity clauses, The Crudesky (2013) on force majeure clauses and demurrage, North Eastern Properties Ltd v Coleman (2010) and Samarenko v Dawn Hill House Ltd (2011) on notices making time of the essence, Siemens Building Technologies FE Ltd v Supershield Ltd (2010) and John Grimes Partnership Ltd v Gubbins (2012) on remoteness of damage, Spar Shipping AS v Grand China Logistics Holding (Group) Co Ltd (2016) on the late payment of charterparty hire, Ampurius Nu Homes Holdings Ltd v Telford Homes (Creekside) Ltd (2013), Urban 1 (Blonk St) v Ayres (2013) and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co v Cottonex Anstalt (2016) on delay as a repudiatory breach, and The Sea Angel (2007) and The Mary Nour (2008) on the doctrine of frustration. The growing trend towards reliance upon the so-called prevention principle is also treated with particular reference to Multiplex Constructions (UK) Ltd v Honeywell Control Systems Ltd (2007), Adyard Abu Dhabi LLC v SD Marine Services (2011), and Jerram Falkus Construction Ltd v Fenice Investments Inc (2011). The book also discusses the implications of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 on delays in performance. A new chapter has been included in this edition in relation to express contractual provisions dealing with issues of delay, with special reference to construction contracts, charter parties and contracts for the sale of land.

This, the only book in print to focus on liquidated damages and penalty clauses, analyses the common law jurisdiction to control stipulated damages clauses, and the distinction between enforceable liquidated damages clauses and unenforceable penalty clauses. The first part examines the historical origin of the control of these clauses, the second describes the current control of such clauses and their legal effect, the third critically examines the various rationales that have been proposed to justify their regulation and the final part describes analogous provisions and how to avoid drafting contractual clauses that are rendered unenforceable by the penalty rule. The book examines approaches in several common law jurisdictions in addition to England and Wales, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, and brings together principles developed in distinct commercial law contexts (such as shipping contracts) to enable comparison between particular contractual settings. Cited in the Court of Appeal, New Zealand, in 127 Hobson Street Ltd v Honey Bees Preschool Ltd [2019] NZCA 122 [18 April 2019]