ESSENTIAL
CONTRACT LAW SECOND EDITION
CP Cavendish Publishing Limited
London • Sydney
Titles in the series: Company Law Constitutional & Administrative Law Contract Law Criminal Law EC Law English Legal System Evidence Family Law Jurisprudence Land Law Tort Trusts
ESSENTIAL
CONTRACT LAW SECOND EDITION
Marnah Suff, BA, LLB, Cert F Ed, Barrister Principal Lecturer in Law Swansea Law School
CP Cavendish Publishing Limited
London • Sydney
Second edition first published in Great Britain 1997 by Cavendish Publishing Limited, The Glass House, Wharton Street, London WC1X 9PX, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7278 8000 Facsimile: +44 (0) 20 7278 8080 E-mail:
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE, UK, without the permission in writing of the publisher.
Suff, Marnah Essential Contract Law – (Essential Law Series) I Title II Series 344.2062 ISBN 1 85941 360 9 Printed and bound in Great Britain
Foreword This book is part of the Cavendish Essential series. The books in the series are designed to provide useful revision aids for the hard-pressed student. They are not, of course, intended to be substitutes for more detailed treatises. Other textbooks in the Cavendish portfolio must supply these gaps. The Cavendish Essential Series is now in its second edition and is a well-established favourite among students. The team of authors bring a wealth of lecturing and examining experience to the task in hand. Many of us can even recall what it was like to face law examinations!
Professor Nicholas Bourne General Editor, Essential Series Swansea Summer 1997
Preface This book is intended as a revision aid for students studying for degree or professional examinations in the law of contract. As space is limited, the book concentrates on those areas of the law which are found in most contract syllabi, including that of the External LLB of the University of London. Topics not covered include the history of the law of contract, form, gaming and wagering contracts, agency, assignment, and quasi-contracts. The law is stated as it was on the 1 May 1997. My thanks are due to Mrs Maureen Turner, without whose advice and assistance this book would not have been possible.
Marnah Suff
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Contents Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii 1 Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 The need for a valid offer and a valid acceptance . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Identification of a valid offer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Termination of the offer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Identification of a valid acceptance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Certainty of terms and incomplete agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 2 Consideration and intention to be legally bound . . . . . . . . .