"A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more mutually agreeing parties. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to transfer any of those at a future date."
An exploration of the principles of contract law, including the formation of a contract, breach of contract, and remedies for breach.
What is a Contract: An agreement between two or more parties that creates legally binding obligations.
Offer and Acceptance: The process of making an offer and then accepting the same offer made by another party.
Consideration: Something of value exchanged by the parties in the contract that is necessary for the agreement to be binding.
Capacity: The legal ability of a person or business to enter into a contract.
Legality: The requirement that the subject matter of the contract is legal in nature.
Rescission and Restitution: Cancelling the contract and returning any benefits received.
Breach of Contract: When one party fails to fulfill or perform the obligations of the contract.
Damages: Monetary compensation awarded to a party as a result of a breach of contract.
Remedies: The legal action available to a party to enforce a contract, including specific performance or injunctions.
Assignment and Delegation: The transfer of rights or duties under a contract to another party.
Contract Interpretation: The process of interpreting the language and meaning of a contract.
Statute of Frauds: A legal requirement that certain contracts must be in writing to be enforceable.
Parol Evidence Rule: A rule that limits the use of prior oral or written statements to vary or contradict the terms of a written contract.
Third-Party Beneficiaries: A person or entity who is not a party to the contract but stands to benefit from its performance.
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC): A set of laws that govern the sale of goods and other commercial transactions.
Express Contract: A contract that is established with an explicit and inscribed agreement between the parties involved.
Implied Contract: A contract that is established through the actions, conduct or circumstances of the parties, and not through explicit agreement.
Bilateral Contract: A contract that establishes obligations for both parties to perform certain acts.
Unilateral Contract: A contract that specifies obligations for only one party to perform certain acts.
Executed Contract: A contract that has been fully performed by both parties.
Executory Contract: A contract that has not been fully executed or performed by either party.
Voidable Contract: A contract that can be legally terminated or canceled by one or both parties due to illegal or unethical factors.
Valid Contract: A contract that is enforceable in law, and satisfies all the legal requirements of an agreement.
Void Contract: A contract that is unenforceable in law, and has no legal effect.
Unenforceable Contract: A contract that is legally binding but cannot be enforced due to legal technicalities.
Aleatory Contract: A contract that is established on the basis of an uncertain event, and its performance depends on the occurrence of the event.
Option Contract: A contract that grants one party the right, but not the obligation, to engage in certain activities with the other party.
Adhesion Contract: A contract that is imposed by one party with little or no negotiation with the other party.
Quantum Meruit Contract: A contract that specifies that compensation should be provided for services even if there is no written agreement.
Unilateral Contract with Reward: A contract that grants a reward or compensation to the party fulfilling the specified obligation.
"In the event of a breach of contract, the injured party may seek judicial remedies such as damages or rescission."
"A binding agreement between actors in international law is known as a treaty."
"Contract law, the field of the law of obligations concerned with contracts, is based on the principle that agreements must be honored."
"Like other areas of private law, contract law varies between jurisdictions. In general, contract law is exercised and governed either under common law jurisdictions, civil law jurisdictions, or mixed-law jurisdictions that combine elements of both common and civil law."
"Common law jurisdictions typically require contracts to include consideration in order to be valid."
"Civil and most mixed-law jurisdictions solely require a meeting of the minds between the parties."
"Within the overarching category of civil law jurisdictions, there are several distinct varieties of contract law with their own distinct criteria."
"The German tradition is characterized by the unique doctrine of abstraction."
"Systems based on the Napoleonic Code are characterized by their systematic distinction between different types of contracts."
"Roman-Dutch law is largely based on the writings of renaissance-era Dutch jurists and case law applying general principles of Roman law prior to the Netherlands' adoption of the Napoleonic Code."
"The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, published in 2016, aim to provide a general harmonized framework for international contracts...as well as a statement of common contractual principles for arbitrators and judges to apply where national laws are lacking."
"Notably, the Principles reject the doctrine of consideration, arguing that elimination of the doctrine 'bring[s] about greater certainty and reduce litigation' in international trade."
"The Principles also rejected the abstraction principle on the grounds that it and similar doctrines are 'not easily compatible with modern business perceptions and practice'."
"While tort law generally deals with private duties and obligations that exist by operation of law, and provide remedies for civil wrongs committed between individuals not in a pre-existing legal relationship, contract law provides for the creation and enforcement of duties and obligations through a prior agreement between parties."
"The emergence of quasi-contracts, quasi-torts, and quasi-delicts renders the boundary between tort and contract law somewhat uncertain."