This chapter considers the final element of the formation of the contract: the intention to create legal relations. There is generally no difficulty in finding this requirement is fulfilled in commercial cases, but such intention is generally assumed to be absent in domestic or social agreements. The parties’ intentions may usually reflect these assumptions, but the issue of underlying policy is addressed. In commercial situations, issues of ‘intention to create legal relations’ are more likely to arise in relation to a clause which it is claimed is intended to show that there was no such intention in relation to the particular agreement.
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Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. This chapter discusses certainty and the intention to create legal relations. It first considers cases where the parties have used ambiguous or unclear language. It then looks at cases where the parties have deliberately left terms to be agreed at a later date. In the former cases, the agreement is often described as ‘vague’; in the latter cases it is described as ‘incomplete’. The chapter then turns to domestic agreements, commercial agreements, and executory and executed agreements.
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Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams and exercises help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. This chapter discusses certainty and the intention to create legal relations. It first considers cases where the parties have used ambiguous or unclear language. It then looks at cases where the parties have deliberately left terms to be agreed at a later date. In the former cases, the agreement is often described as ‘vague’; in the latter cases it is described as ‘incomplete’. The chapter then turns to domestic agreements, commercial agreements, and executory and executed agreements.
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This chapter considers the final element of the formation of the contract: the intention to create legal relations. There is generally no difficulty in finding this requirement is fulfilled in commercial cases, but such intention is generally assumed to be absent in domestic or social agreements. The parties’ intentions may usually reflect these assumptions, but the issue of underlying policy is addressed. In commercial situations, issues of ‘intention to create legal relations’ are more likely to arise in relation to a clause which it is claimed is intended to show that there was no such intention in relation to the particular agreement.
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This chapter focuses on provisions that may be included in a partnership agreement. It first considers whether a formal, written agreement is necessary at all. It then discusses the clauses of the partnership agreement and the issues which a prospective new partner might wish to consider before putting his signature to a partnership agreement.
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M P Furmston
This chapter, which examines the requirements of intention to create legal relations, discusses its application to domestic agreements such as agreements between husband and wife and commercial agreements.
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This chapter discusses horizontal cooperation agreements between competitors. There may be circumstances in which competitors cooperate with one another in a way that delivers economic benefits, not just for themselves but for consumer welfare as well. After a discussion of joint ventures, the chapter discusses the application of Article 101 to horizontal cooperation agreements. It refers, in particular, to the European Commission’s Guidelines on Horizontal Cooperation Agreements and discusses, in turn, information exchange, research and development agreements, production agreements, purchasing agreements, commercialisation agreements, standardisation agreements and other cases of permissible horizontal cooperation. It concludes with a brief look at the treatment of horizontal cooperation agreements under UK competition law.
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This chapter investigates the basic law on the certainty and intention requirements in the creation of an agreement. To be legally enforceable as a contract, the agreement must be sufficiently certain and show an intention to enter a legal relationship. Agreements can be uncertain because they are vague, or because they are incomplete. This can indicate there was no intention to enter a legal relationship. The courts must not rewrite the agreement; they must simply interpret it. If an agreement is incomplete, the courts may decide that the missing terms are implied, and this is more likely if there has been performance. A gap in an incomplete agreement can be filled if the parties have provided a mechanism for doing so, or if the terms can be construed so as to do so. The chapter then differentiates between an agreement to negotiate (a lock-in agreement) and agreements not to negotiate with other parties (lock-out agreements). Agreements between businesses are presumed to be made with the intention to be legally binding, but the facts, the interpretation of the terms, or the surrounding circumstances could mean there was no such intention.
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Alison Jones, Brenda Sufrin, and Niamh Dunne
This chapter discusses EU competition policy towards horizontal cooperation agreements. It covers joint ventures; the contents of the 2022 Draft Guidelines; the general approach to horizontal cooperation agreements in the Guidelines; research and development agreements, including the 2022 draft block exemption on research and development; production agreements, including the 2022 draft block exemption on specialisation agreements; purchasing agreements; commercialisation agreements; standardisation agreements; and sustainability agreements.
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This chapter discusses the use of separation and maintenance agreements, the essential features of both types of agreements, and the advantages and disadvantages of separation and maintenance agreements. A separation or maintenance agreement can help parties avoid expensive and drawn-out litigation. Separation agreements essentially record that the parties wish to live apart and can include terms about children, property, and maintenance. Maintenance agreements deal with the payment of maintenance to or for the benefit of spouses, civil partners, or children, but do not deal with the separation of the parties. The form of separation and maintenance agreements is discussed, as well as enforcement.
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Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses the essential features of a contract. Offer and acceptance are the first stages in establishing an agreement that may form a legally binding contract. An offer may be accepted at any point until it is terminated. Acceptance can only be made by the offeree or their agent. Consideration is the bargain element of a contract and may be referred to as the ‘price of a promise’. The parties must intend for an agreement to establish legal relations to create an enforceable contract. Presumptions exist in relation to social/domestic agreements and business/commercial agreements.
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This chapter discusses the key elements of a contract as an agreement. No contract exists unless the parties have agreed on everything which they consider requires agreement. However, a failure explicitly to set out all the terms of the agreement is not necessarily fatal to there being a contract, since a court might be able to imply terms to fill in any gaps. But a court will be unable to do this if it would contradict the intentions of the parties. Parties may agree not to negotiate with anyone else for a specified period of time. But an agreement to negotiate with one another is not binding because it is insufficiently certain. An agreement may be made ‘subject’ to something or other. If so, the contract is not binding until that particular event occurs.
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This chapter considers the EU’s relationship with third countries and international organisations. It discusses the legal basis and competence for the EU’s external action and offers examples of how the EU exercises this competence. This is followed by an overview of the types of agreements the EU enters into with third countries with a discussion on the treaty arrangements with Switzerland, the EEA (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and the UK. It then considers the EU’s relationship with a selection of international organisations.
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Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. This chapter examines the certainty requirement in contractual formation and discusses the factors that influence the courts in deciding whether an agreement possesses the requisite degree of certainty, in the context of issues such as agreements to agree, agreements to negotiate in good faith, and agreements to use reasonable or best endeavours to negotiate or agree.
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Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. This chapter examines the certainty requirement in contractual formation and discusses the factors that influence the courts in deciding whether an agreement possesses the requisite degree of certainty, in the context of issues such as agreements to agree, agreements to negotiate in good faith, and agreements to use reasonable or best endeavours to negotiate or agree.
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This chapter discusses EU competition policy towards horizontal cooperation agreements. It covers joint ventures; the contents of the 2010 Guidelines; the general approach to horizontal cooperation agreements in the Guidelines; information agreements; research and development agreements, including the block emption, Regulation 1217/2010; production agreements, including the block exemption on specialisation agreements, Regulation 1218/2010 ; purchasing agreements; commercialisation agreements; standardisation agreements; and agreements in particular sectors, such as the joint buying or selling of media rights to sports events.
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This chapter is concerned with horizontal cooperation agreements which the competition authorities in the EU and the UK may be prepared to countenance. There may be circumstances in which competitors cooperate with one another in a way that delivers economic benefits, not just for themselves, but for consumer welfare as well. After a discussion of joint ventures, the chapter discusses the application of Article 101 to horizontal cooperation agreements. It refers, in particular, to the European Commission’s Guidelines on Horizontal Cooperation Agreements and discusses, in turn, information exchange, research and development agreements, production agreements, purchasing agreements, commercialisation agreements, standardisation agreements, sustainability agreements and other cases of permissible horizontal cooperation. It concludes with a brief look at the treatment of horizontal cooperation agreements under UK competition law.
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This chapter examines the ‘future relationship’ agreement(s) that will apply between the UK and the EU. Following the adoption of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will be looking to conclude what the EU terms a ‘future relationship’ agreement with the EU over the course of the transition period. That ‘future relationship’ will address both the conditions under which the UK trades with the EU in the future — or what replaces the internal market — and how the UK and the EU relate to each other diplomatically — or what replaces ‘membership’ of the EU as an institution. The EU Treaties set out clear processes for the conclusion of international agreements between the EU and other countries. The chapter explores what those processes are, considering what powers the EU has to conclude international agreements. It also looks at how decision-making relating to those international agreements takes place within the EU institutions.
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Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses some of the key common law and statutory provisions relating to consumer credit agreements and the common issues that arise. It first explains the provisions of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, as amended by the Consumer Credit Act 2006. The chapter then considers the rights of debtors who take credit under a ‘regulated agreement’, along with the (previous) extortionate credit bargain provisions that have been replaced by a test which considers whether there was an unfair relationship between the debtor and the creditor. It also considers consumer hire agreements, exempt agreements, small agreements, and non-commercial agreements, as well as the liability of the creditor for the seller’s misrepresentation or breach of contract, retaking of protected goods, and the debtor’s right to complete payments ahead of time.
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Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses some of the key common law and statutory provisions relating to consumer credit agreements and the common issues that arise. It first explains the provisions of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, as amended by the Consumer Credit Act 2006. The chapter then considers the rights of debtors who take credit under a ‘regulated agreement’, along with the (previous) extortionate credit bargain provisions that have been replaced by a test which considers whether there was an unfair relationship between the debtor and the creditor. It also considers consumer hire agreements, exempt agreements, small agreements, and non-commercial agreements as well as the liability of the creditor for the seller’s misrepresentation or breach of contract, retaking of protected goods, and the debtor’s right to complete payments ahead of time.
