Elements of the law of contract 1 Introduction and general principles
This subject guide is designed to help you to study the Elements of the Law of Contract in England and Wales. This guide is not a textbook and it must not be taken as a substitute for reading the texts, cases, statutes and journals referred to in it. The purpose of the guide is to take you through each topic in the syllabus for Elements of the Law of Contract in a way which will help you to understand contract law.
The guide is intended to ‘wrap around’ the recommended textbooks and casebook. It provides an outline of the major issues presented in this subject. Each chapter presents the most important aspects of the topic and provides guidance as to essential and further reading.
There are also sample examination questions, with appropriate feedback, which will assist you in your examination reparation. In the study of contract law, it is essential to try to gain an understanding of the principles of law – what the law is trying to do in response to particular issues – rather than the rote memorisation of rules and cases. This means you may need to read passages or chapters in the guide (and the relevant suggested reading materials) several times in order to understand the principles of law being covered.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this subject guide and the relevant reading, you should be able to:
Books for everyday use
The main text for this subject is:
You should also buy a casebook. This guide is structured around:
More advanced books
The more detailed textbook currently considered to be best suited to the needs of students on the International Programme is:
Statute books
You should also make sure you have an up-to-date statute book. Under the Regulations you are allowed to take one authorised statute book into the examination room.
Information about the statute books and other materials that you are permitted to use in the examination is printed in the current Regulations, which you should refer to.
Other books
References to the recommended books in the guide
This guide is designed for use in conjunction with McKendrick’s textbook and Poole’s casebook. The readings in this subject guide were set around the ninth edition of McKendrick’s textbook and the eleventh edition of Poole’s casebook. In the event that you have a later edition of the textbook, (i.e. a new edition of the textbook publishes before the next edition of this subject guide), the subject headings, set out in the readings, should refer to the relevant portion of a later textbook.
Essential reading
Journals
It is useful to consult journals regularly to improve your understanding of the law and to be aware of recent developments in the law. Journals which may prove useful to you for their articles and case notes are:
Online resources
As mentioned earlier, you will find a great deal of useful material on the Laws Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and Online Library. These are both accessed through the student portal at http://my.londonexternal.ac.uk
The Online Library provides access to cases, statutes and journals as well as professional legal databases such as LexisNexis, Westlaw and Justis. These will allow you to read and analyse most of the cases discussed in this guide and the relevant materials.
Students are also able to access newsletters on the VLE that deal with matters of contemporary interest.
Use of the internet provides the external student with a great deal of information, as a great deal of legal material is available over the Internet. Whilst the sites change on an almost monthly basis, some useful ones at the time of writing this guide are:
The guide is intended to ‘wrap around’ the recommended textbooks and casebook. It provides an outline of the major issues presented in this subject. Each chapter presents the most important aspects of the topic and provides guidance as to essential and further reading.
There are also sample examination questions, with appropriate feedback, which will assist you in your examination reparation. In the study of contract law, it is essential to try to gain an understanding of the principles of law – what the law is trying to do in response to particular issues – rather than the rote memorisation of rules and cases. This means you may need to read passages or chapters in the guide (and the relevant suggested reading materials) several times in order to understand the principles of law being covered.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this subject guide and the relevant reading, you should be able to:
- demonstrate a thorough working knowledge of contract law: the syllabus aims to give you a good working knowledge of the elements of contract law and the theory underlying it.
- understand contract case law: you should develop the ability to understand contract cases, that is to say the importance of the issues in a case and how the court has resolved the issues
- apply the cases: you should be able to apply the case law to a given issue
- understand statutes: you should develop the ability to interpret a statute; you
- should also be able to understand the interrelationship between the statute and the relevant common law
- apply the statutes: you should be able to apply the statutes to a given issue.
Books for everyday use
The main text for this subject is:
- McKendrick, E. Contract law. (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) ninth edition [ISBN 9780230285699].
You should also buy a casebook. This guide is structured around:
- Poole, J. Casebook on contract law. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012) eleventh edition [ISBN 9780199699483].
More advanced books
The more detailed textbook currently considered to be best suited to the needs of students on the International Programme is:
- Beatson, J., A. Burrows and J. Cartwright Anson’s law of contract. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010) twenty-ninth edition [ISBN 9780199282470]. You may also wish to consult a more detailed casebook. Here the choice lies between:
- Beale, H.G., W.D. Bishop and M.P. Furmston Contract – cases and materials. (London: Butterworths, 2007) fifth edition [ISBN 0199287368].
- McKendrick, E. Contract law: text, cases and materials. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012) fifth edition [ISBN 9780199699384].
- Brownsword, R. Smith & Thomas: A casebook on contract. (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2009) twelfth edition [ISBN 9781847034175].
Statute books
You should also make sure you have an up-to-date statute book. Under the Regulations you are allowed to take one authorised statute book into the examination room.
Information about the statute books and other materials that you are permitted to use in the examination is printed in the current Regulations, which you should refer to.
Other books
- Treitel, G.H. and E. Peel The law of contract. (London: Sweet and Maxwell, 2011)
- thirteenth edition [ISBN 9781847039217].
- Furmston, M.P. Cheshire, Fifoot and Furmston’s law of contract. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012) sixteenth edition [ISBN 9780199568345].
- McVea, H. and P. Cumper Exam skills for law students. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006) second edition [ISBN 9780199283095].
References to the recommended books in the guide
This guide is designed for use in conjunction with McKendrick’s textbook and Poole’s casebook. The readings in this subject guide were set around the ninth edition of McKendrick’s textbook and the eleventh edition of Poole’s casebook. In the event that you have a later edition of the textbook, (i.e. a new edition of the textbook publishes before the next edition of this subject guide), the subject headings, set out in the readings, should refer to the relevant portion of a later textbook.
Essential reading
- McKendrick, Chapter 11: ‘Exclusion clauses’ – Section 11.7 ‘Fundamental breach’.
- Poole, Chapter 8: ‘Breach of contract’ – Section 2 ‘The consequences of breach’.
Journals
It is useful to consult journals regularly to improve your understanding of the law and to be aware of recent developments in the law. Journals which may prove useful to you for their articles and case notes are:
- Cambridge Law Journal
- Journal of Contract Law
- Law Quarterly Review
- Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
- Modern Law Review
- New Law Journal.
Online resources
As mentioned earlier, you will find a great deal of useful material on the Laws Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and Online Library. These are both accessed through the student portal at http://my.londonexternal.ac.uk
The Online Library provides access to cases, statutes and journals as well as professional legal databases such as LexisNexis, Westlaw and Justis. These will allow you to read and analyse most of the cases discussed in this guide and the relevant materials.
Students are also able to access newsletters on the VLE that deal with matters of contemporary interest.
Use of the internet provides the external student with a great deal of information, as a great deal of legal material is available over the Internet. Whilst the sites change on an almost monthly basis, some useful ones at the time of writing this guide are:
- www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk contains full texts of the House of Lords’ judgments
- www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga provides the full text of UK Acts back to 1991
- www.parliament.uk the sitemap for the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which will provide you with access to a range of legislative information
- www.lawcom.gov.uk the Law Commission’s website; this provides information about law reform.
- In addition to these sites, a growing number of private publishers provide legal information and case updates. A site where useful information about recent cases and developments in the law can be found is: www.bailii.org
Tags : Corporate and Commercial