Contract Law Without Foundations

Contract Law Without Foundations
Author: Prince Saprai
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2019-02-28
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0191084581

This book advances a theoretical account of contract law, grounded in value pluralism. Arguing against attempts to delineate branches of legal doctrine by reference to single unifying values, the book suggests that a field such as contract law can only be explained and justified by the interaction of a multiplicity of moral values. In recent times, the philosophy of contract law has been dominated by the 'promise theory', according to which the morality of promise provides a 'blueprint' for the structure, shape, and content that contract law rules and doctrines should take. The promise theory is an example of what this book calls a 'foundationalist' theory, whereby areas of law reflect or are underlain by particular moral principles or sets of such principles. By considering contract law from the point of view of its theory, rules and doctrines, and broader political context, the book argues that the promise theory can only ever offer part of the picture. The book claims that 'top-down' theories of contract law such as the promise theory and its bitter rival the economic analysis of law seriously mishandle legal doctrine by ignoring or underplaying the irreducible plurality of values that shape contract law. The book defends the role of this multiplicity of values in forging contract doctrine by developing from the 'ground-up' a radical and distinctly republican reinterpretation of the field. The book encourages readers to move away from a 'top-down' theory of contract law such as the promise theory and instead embrace a distinctly republican approach to contract law that would justify the legal rules and doctrines we find in particular jurisdictions at particular times.

Contract Law Without Foundations

Contract Law Without Foundations
Author: Prince Saprai
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2019
Genre: Contracts
ISBN: 9780191824050

This monograph advances a theoretical account of contract law, grounded in value pluralism. Arguing against attempts to delineate branches of legal doctrine by reference to single unifying values, the book asserts that a field such as contract law can only be explained and justified by the interaction of a multiplicity of moral values.

Philosophical Foundations of Contract Law

Philosophical Foundations of Contract Law
Author: Gregory Klass
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2014-12-18
Genre: Law
ISBN: 019102208X

In recent years there has been a revival of interest in the philosophical study of contract law. In 1981 Charles Fried claimed that contract law is based on the philosophy of promise and this has generated what is today known as 'the contract and promise debate'. Cutting to the heart of contemporary discussions, this volume brings together leading philosophers, legal theorists, and contract lawyers to debate the philosophical foundations of this area of law. Divided into two parts, the first explores general themes in the contract theory literature, including the philosophy of promising, the nature of contractual obligation, economic accounts of contract law, and the relationship between contract law and moral values such as personal autonomy and distributive justice. The second part uses these philosophical ideas to make progress in doctrinal debates, relating for example to contract interpretation, unfair terms, good faith, vitiating factors, and remedies. Together, the essays provide a picture of the current state of research in this revitalized area of law, and pave the way for future study and debate.

Foundations of Contract Law

Foundations of Contract Law
Author: Richard Craswell
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2006
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9781422499412

This text brings together important legal studies and a wealth of materials by economists, historians, political scientists, and sociologists to illuminate the intellectual currents and social and political forces behind contemporary practices and procedures. Designed to complement any standard casebook, it will be an invaluable resource both for the required contracts course and for any upper-level contract theory course. The Foundations of Law Series offers a collection of comprehensive readings that provide an interdisciplinary perspective on a substantive legal field. Edited by scholars who have made important contributions, the readings are designed to provide an accessible introduction to the leading scholarship in a field. Accompanying notes and questions permit students to engage fully in the literature on their own, as well as to aid their understanding of material covered in classes.

Foundations of American Contract Law

Foundations of American Contract Law
Author: James Gordley
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023
Genre: Contracts
ISBN: 9780197686096

"This book reconsiders the foundations of contract law by clarifying the meaning of fairness and choice. It shows how these ideas were muddled with rise of voluntarism and conceptualism in the nineteenth century. Contract was defined in term of the will of the parties, even though often the parties are bound by terms to which they did not consciously assent and sometimes they are not bound by harsh terms to which they assented. Rules were formulated without regard to the purposes that contract law serves. Current theory and practice recognize these problems but cannot resolve them because they lack a clear idea of fairness in exchange. They approach them by manipulating the idea of choice, or by creating exceptions to previously accepted rules, or by introducing vaguely conceived policy considerations. Economic approaches disregard fairness entirely. This book revives a pre-nineteenth century idea of fairness in exchange. This idea is consistent with modern economic thought and can reconcile concerns about fairness, party autonomy, and the purposes that a contact serves for society and the parties themselves. This book presents an account of contract law that is principled, comprehensive, systematic, and operational in the sense that it explains or criticizes what courts actually do. It seeks to explain the enforceability of contracts, unconscionability, the effect of mistake, and changed circumstances, and problems of assent, interpretation, good faith, and remedies"--

The Dignity of Commerce

The Dignity of Commerce
Author: Nathan Oman
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2016
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 022641552X

The Dignity of Commerce is a rigorous and novel exploration of moral justification of contract law through how it fosters well-functioning markets. Nathan B. Oman demonstrates how contract law deals overwhelmingly with the matters of commercial exchange, and how commerce in turn breeds habits of mind, or virtues, that support a liberal society. He also shows how markets provide a framework for peaceful cooperation across the fault lines of race, culture, religion, and politics that outdo even democratic political institutions. The Dignity of Commerce is ambitious in its aims and its conclusions and the implications are powerful. It is sure to elicit a serious discussion at the very heart of one of the most central areas of legal studies, and Nathan B. Oman has provided a clear, engaging, and comprehensive vehicle to get the discussion started.

Law of Contract

Law of Contract
Author: Paul Richards
Publisher:
Total Pages: 512
Release: 2002
Genre: Law
ISBN:

This title sets out the principles of the law of contract with reference to the leading cases. Each chapter contains details of recommended further reading including cases and articles. A companion website allows students to keep up to date with developments.

Foundations of Private Law

Foundations of Private Law
Author: James Gordley
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 496
Release: 2006-01-05
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0191021717

Foundations of Private Law is a treatise on the Western law of property, contract, tort and unjust enrichment in both common law systems and civil law systems. The thesis of the book is that underlying these fields of law are common principles, and that these principles can be used to explain the history and development of these areas. These underlying common principles are matters of common sense, which were given their archetypal expression by older jurists who wrote in the Aristotelian tradition. These principles shaped the development of Western law but can resolve legal problems which these older writers did not confront.

The Foundations of Legal Liability: History and theory of English contract law

The Foundations of Legal Liability: History and theory of English contract law
Author: Thomas Atkins Street
Publisher:
Total Pages: 598
Release: 1980
Genre: Actions and defenses
ISBN:

This multi-volume treatise from 1906 discusses the historical development of legal liability based on contractual relations. The work provides a general introduction to the law of actions with a detailed examination of several individual forms.