Module Identifier
LA15830
Module Title
LAW OF CONTRACT
Academic Year
2008/2009
Co-ordinator
Dr David A Poyton
Semester
Semester 2
Co-Requisite
LA10110 or LA30110 or LA15710
Mutually Exclusive
LA35310
Mutually Exclusive
LA35830
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Seminars / Tutorials 8 Hours. - Four one hour seminars in each semester
Lecture 40 Hours. - Three one hour lectures per week
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment Essay: Assessed essay of 2000 words required in Week 8 of Semester 2  33%
Semester Assessment Essay: Non assessed compulsory essay of 2000 words required in week 6 of semester 1 
Semester Exam 2 Hours   67%
Supplementary Assessment 2 Hours   Resit: By retaking the failed element (ie written assignment or examination or both, as applicable) 

Learning Outcomes


To give the student a good understanding of contract law as a largely common law subject and to develop the students understanding of precedent and the use of legal argument based on case law. To develop the student's skills in applying contract law to particular questions /problems. To meet the requirements for professional exemption. To equip the students to study further modules which rely on a knowledge of contract law.

Brief description

Contract law is part of the fabric of our everyday lives. We make contracts when we buy a newspaper or travel on a bus. Obviously not all contracts are of those simple types. Contracts dealing with the construction of ships or buildings will be highly complex. Nevertheless, across that spectrum the underlying principles of contract law remain the same and it is those basic principles which are the subject matter of this course. Contract law is a foundation subject and is normally studied in the first year of the degree scheme. The course aims to provide a solid grounding in the rules of Contract Law as a legal area on which others will build. However, it does not simply aim to provide a view of the law as a set of rules but as an area developing in the light of tensions within the law and the difficulties encountered in particular contexts. As a course taken at the start of legal study, it also has an important role in developing basic legal skills. The aim is to promote an understanding of how a legal area which is largely based on case law develops.

Aims


To give the student a good understanding of contract law and, in so doing, to further the development of an awareness of the need for, and use of, accurate language; a logical approach to problems; legal analytical skills; effective communication skills, both orally and on paper and a critical approach to law and legal argument.

Content

Teaching
The main contract law modules are taught through lectures and seminars. The lecture is a means of introducing the basic rules and highlighting difficulties and tensions within the law. Seminars are an interactive learning process for the student, based upon the student's, private study of the area under review. Questions are set for seminars to enhance the student's understanding of Contract Law and also to develop their skills in dealing with precedent and statutory interpretation. Students are encouraged to take a critical approach to the law, identifying the tensions within it and the context of its development. Students are required to do one piece of written work in each semester. These will take the form either of problem or essay questions. Both pieces of written work are compulsory. The piece of written work in the second semester will count towards the final assessment for the course.

Syllabus

1. Introduction to the Law of Contract.

2. Formation of the Contract.

3. Intention to create legal relations.

4. Consideration.

5. Privity.

6. Express and Implied Terms.

7. Conditions, Warranties and Innominate Terms.

8. Exemption clauses & Unfair Terms.

9. Misrepresentation.

10. Duress and undue influence.

11. Mistake.

12. Frustration.

13. Performance and Breach.

14. Remedies.

15. An outline of the Law of Restitution.


Reading List

Recommended Text
Koffman & MacDonald The Law of Contract 4th Tolley Primo search Poole Casebook on Contract Blackstone Primo search Smith & Thomas A Casebook on Contract Sweet & Maxwell Primo search

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 4