This chapter discusses the nature and import of contractual terms and the form which they may take. First, it distinguishes the terms of a contract from representations, which are statements made by one party to the other that are not intended to be an integral part of the agreement. Similarly, collateral warranties, which are preliminary assurances that are contractually binding, but not as part of the principal agreement, are distinguished from representations which are not contractually binding. Second, the importance of different types of terms is examined by reference to the distinction between conditions, warranties, and innominate terms. Third, the implication of terms into contracts is explored. Finally, the chapter considers the interpretation or construction of terms.
Chapter
5. The Terms of the Contract
Jack Beatson, Andrew Burrows, and John Cartwright
Chapter
10. The Law of Treaties
Paola Gaeta, Jorge E. Viñuales, and Salvatore Zappalà
The most frequent means of creating international rules is the conclusion of agreements. These are also called treaties, conventions, protocols, covenants, ‘acts’, etc. The terminology varies but the substance is the same: they all denote a merger of the wills of two or more international subjects for the purpose of regulating their interests by international rules. This chapter discusses the notion and types of treaty, the making of treaties, reservations, grounds of invalidity, interpretation, and termination in light of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which is one of the prominent achievements of the ILC for the codification and progressive development of international law.
Chapter
6. How Precedent Operates: Ratio Decidendi and Obiter Dictum
The aim of this chapter is to emphasise that legal analysis is not just a question of comparing facts or using a set of balancing scales to see if the facts weigh about the same. The situation is often much more complicated than that. This chapter discusses the following: the development of case law and why cases may be distinguished as well as applied on the material facts; defining ratio decidendi; perception and ratio; ratio and interpretation; obiter dictum; how precedents develop; answering legal questions on precedent; material facts; what can happen to a case; the postal rule cases; and the ‘uncertainty principle’ of cases.
Chapter
4. Terms of the Contract
The Concentrate Questions and Answers series offers the best preparation for tackling exam questions. Each book includes typical questions, answer plans and suggested answers, author commentary, and other features. This chapter explores the terms of the contract. It contains questions and answers concerning express and implied terms, how terms are to be identified, and how they are to be classified in order to determine what consequences flow from their breach. The chapter also considers two key debates: the basis on which the courts imply terms into contracts, and whether the courts approach the classification of terms highlights a tension in the law between certainty and justice.
Chapter
8. International Organizations
Dapo Akande
This chapter examines the legal framework governing international organizations. It begins with an examination of the history, role, and nature of international organizations. It is argued that although the constituent instruments and practices of each organization differ, there are common legal principles which apply to international organizations. The chapter focuses on the identification and exploration of those common legal principles. There is an examination of the manner in which international organizations acquire legal personality in international and domestic law and the consequences of that legal personality. There is also discussion of the manner in which treaties establishing international organizations are interpreted and how this differs from ordinary treaty interpretation. The legal and decision-making competences of international organizations are considered as are the responsibility of international organizations and their privileges and immunities. Finally, the chapter examines the structure and powers of what is the leading international organization—the United Nations (UN).
Chapter
3. The law of treaties
This chapter examines the rules of international law governing the birth, the life, and the death of treaties. Treaties, a formal source of international law, are agreements in written form between States or international organizations that are subject to international law. A treaty falls under the definition of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), no matter what form or title it may have. The most important factor is that it sets out obligations or entitlements under international law. The VCLT enumerates the rules governing the ‘birth’, ie the steps from the negotiation until the entry into force of the treaty; the ‘life’, ie the interpretation and application of the treaty; and its ‘demise’, ie its termination. The two fundamental tenets are, on the one hand, the principle ‘pacta sunt servanda’ and, on the other, the principle of contractual freedom of the parties.
Chapter
3. The law of treaties
This chapter examines the principles and rules of the international law of treaties as reflected in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). It discusses the treaty as a legal concept and provides an overview of the regulation of who can conclude treaties, how consent to be bound by a treaty is expressed, the rules on entry into force, treaty reservations, the interpretation of treaties, amendments and modifications, the invalidity of treaties and the termination of and withdrawal from treaties. The VCLT is meant to be applied to all types of written treaties and it therefore governs treaties as diverse as a bilateral agreement to construct infrastructure as well as a multilateral document such as the UN Charter. In practice, however, the concrete application of the Convention may differ depending on the type of treaties.
Chapter
7. Interpreting the terms
Construction, rectification, and mutual mistake
This chapter considers how the courts make sense of contracts whose terms are capable of more than one interpretation. It begins by discussing two broad approaches to construing contracts, both of which have influenced English law and both of which continue to form part of the law: literalism and contextualism. It then examines the role English law currently assigns to literalism and contextualism and how the courts decide which to apply, with particular emphasis on the Investors rule and contextual readings. It also evaluates an alternative remedy known as rectification and concludes with an analysis of the limits of construction and the law of mutual mistake.
Chapter
9. International Organizations
Dapo Akande
This chapter examines the legal framework governing international organizations. It begins with an examination of the history, role, and nature of international organizations. It is argued that although the constituent instruments and practices of each organization differ, there are common legal principles which apply to international organizations. The chapter focuses on the identification and exploration of those common legal principles. There is an examination of the manner in which international organizations acquire legal personality in international and domestic law and the consequences of that legal personality. There is also discussion of the manner in which treaties establishing international organizations are interpreted and how this differs from ordinary treaty interpretation. The legal and decision-making competences of international organizations are considered, as are the responsibility of international organizations and their privileges and immunities. Finally, the chapter examines the structure and powers of what is the leading international organization—the United Nations (UN).
Book
Mindy Chen-Wishart
Contract Law offers a new approach, utilising diagrams and commentary boxes to complement the text. The book explains the intricacies of contract law by reference to the questions that arise during the life of a contract. Part I of the book introduces contract law. Part II looks at contract formation: the finding of agreement and meeting the criteria of enforceability. Part III focuses on the position of third parties who may benefit or be burdened by the contract. Part IV considers the reasons for allowing a party to escape the contract, namely the vitiating factors of misrepresentation and non-disclosure, mistake, frustration, duress, undue influence, and unconscionability. Part V looks at how to determine the contents of contracts: express, implied, and collateral terms, and examines their interpretation and enforceability. Part VI considers the breach of a contract and the availability of the remedies of termination, damages, and specific and agreed remedies. Part VII examines whether obligations of good faith should be recognised in current contract law and how that might affect the way we understand contract law.
Chapter
12. The power of a patent
This chapter deals with who is entitled to be a patentee, the rights that a patentee enjoys (which are some of the strongest within intellectual property law), the circumstances in which infringement actions might be brought, the defences that are available, and some points on exploitation practices. A key thread is the construction and interpretation of the patent and the inextricable link between the power conferred by the patent and questions of novelty and obviousness. This chapter also looks at sufficiency, the circumstances in which a patent may be revoked, and the risk of a claim for revocation of the patent.
Chapter
5. Content of the contract and principles of interpretation
Robert Merkin KC, Séverine Saintier, and Jill Poole
Course-focused and comprehensive, Poole’s Textbook on Contract Law provides an accessible overview of the key areas of the law curriculum. This chapter explores how the terms of the parties’ agreement (that is, the contractual promise to be performed) are identified and how the courts interpret the meaning of those terms. It considers the status of statements made prior to the conclusion of the contract (as terms or representations) and why this matters. The parol evidence rule applies where the contract is written and provides that the writing represents the entire contract. This definition is flawed, however, because it allows the rule to be sidestepped by defining the contract as partly written and partly oral. Alternatively, an oral term can take effect as a collateral contract, which is separate to any written contract to which the parol evidence rule applies. The effect of the parol evidence rules can be achieved by incorporating an entire agreement clause. This chapter also considers the effect and impact of a no oral modification clause (or NOM). This chapter examines methods of achieving incorporation of terms such as signature, reasonable notice (or a higher standard of notice if the term is onerous or unusual), consistent course of dealing and common knowledge of the parties. In addition to the express terms, there may be terms implied by custom, by courts or by statute. Finally, the chapter considers the principles on which contracts are interpreted including the relevance, or otherwise, of pre-contractual negotiations.
