Bringing together leading commercial and contract law scholars from the United Kingdom and United States, Comparative Contract Law: British and American Perspectives offers an insightful and comprehensive assessment of the commonalities and divergences in the contract law of these two jurisdictions. Approaching the subject area from a variety of perspectives - doctrinal analysis, behavioral analysis, law and economics, and theoretical - the book examines familiar areas of contract law as practiced in the UK and US. Topics include contract theory and structure; contract formation and defects of consent; policing contracts and the duty of good faith; contract interpretation; damages; speciality contracts; and legal reform. The volume provides a thorough assessment of the current state of commercial contract law in the UK and US, and addresses the strengths and weaknesses of the national and European approaches to many issues of contract law. In particular it focuses on how commercial contract law should be improved, and whether harmonization of the different contract law regimes is a suitable, and appropriate, solution.

This innovative and accessible text offers a straightforward and clear introduction to the law of contract suitable for use across geographical boundaries. It introduces the key principles of contract law by comparing solutions from different jurisdictions and has an innovative design with text boxes, colour and graphics, making it a highly attractive tool for studying. This revised second edition has been updated to reflect the most recent changes in the law, including the French reform of the law of obligations and the new UK Consumer Rights Act. A whole new chapter on contracts and third parties has also been added.

Comparative Contract Law and Economics provides a deeper understanding of the similarities and differences between the legal systems of France, England, the US and Germany in terms of contract law. The application of the economically inspired optimal model rule as a uniform term of comparison provides valuable insights into the pre-contractual duties of disclosure, the phenomena of unforeseen contingencies and the unilateral termination of contracts. The objective evaluation method enriches traditional comparative contract law by enabling further qualitative assessment. The book offers ample opportunities for further research and for 'better' law making, legislation and jurisprudence. Moreover, it enables comparative contract law to offer clear-cut, objective recommendations on the possible improvements of legal rules or decisions. This well-documented book will appeal to postgraduate students and scholars of law and economics, and comparative law. Judges and law practitioners will also find much to interest them in this pioneering volume. Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Pre-contractual Duty to Disclose Information 3. Unforeseen Contingencies 4. Unilateral Termination 5. Summary and Conclusions References Index

This comprehensive Handbook offers a thoughtful survey of contract theories, issues and cases in order to reassess the field's present vision of contract law. It engages a critical search for the fault lines which cross traditions of thought and globalized landscapes. Comparative Contract Law is built around four main groups of insights, including: the genealogies of contractual theoretical thinking; the contentious relationship between private governance and normative regulations; the competing styles used to stage contract law; and the concurring opinions expressed within the domain of other disciplines, such as literature and political theory. The chapters in the book tease out the tensions between a global context and local frameworks as well as the movable thresholds between canonical expressions and heterodox constructions.

Promoting a ‘learning-by-doing’ approach to comparative contract law and comparative methodology, this updated second edition of Comparative Contract Law updates the first true student reader on the subject. Bringing together extracts from legislation and court practice this textbook lets students experience comparative law in action, and presents a unique guide to European and International contract law.

National legal systems have their own principles and rules on contract law. The trans-nationalization of trade and legal practice involves acting in the context of legal diversity. This book provides an introductory overview of the main issues of contract law from a comparative perspective, focusing on the legal traditions of civil law and common law. Featuring short theoretical overviews, followed by cases selected from various jurisdictions, the book shows the concrete application of the principles and rules involved. Civil law and common law represent two different models of dealing with contract law issues. The book focuses on the French, German, and Italian experiences and on the English legal system, the latter being the main source of inspiration for other common law countries, with some significant exceptions. Topics covered include the structure of contract law and the rules about its formation and interpretation, the role of pre-contractual negotiations, the consequences of mistakes, and breach and supervening events (including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic). Readers will learn about common problems that are faced when contracting with parties coming from different jurisdictions, whilst also acquiring a deeper understanding of the approach of their own legal system. This book will be key reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of comparative contract law, and contract law more generally.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take its toll, contractual parties have frequently faced significant obstacles in performing their contractual obligations due to unexpected impediments arising from the pandemic and government measures taken in response. This indispensable book – the most comprehensive comparative examination of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on contractual performance – discusses the legal provisions and doctrines available to address these issues. The book examines under what circumstances COVID-19-related impediments may excuse contractual performance or lead to modification or termination of the affected contractual obligations in twelve representative civil and common law jurisdictions – the United States, England and Wales, Singapore, Brazil, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Hong Kong, Costa Rica, China, and Russia. For each country, the book examines the following aspects in depth: the relevant fundamental legal principles; the various legal emergency valves available to an obligor to respond to COVID-19-related events; any remedies available to the obligee; selected examples for specific government measures related to particular types of contracts (e.g., construction, employment, lease agreements); and how the legal framework applies in typical factual scenarios. As further legal and factual developments occur, and with further jurisdictions being added, this publication will continue to be updated both online and in print. The book provides a detailed explanation under what conditions the emergency valves specific to each jurisdiction may apply. It cuts through the seeming complexity of the various legal rules and doctrines in these jurisdictions and shows that they often produce similar results in practice. The book thus opens up a wealth of insights for businesses, practitioners, and academics around the globe by providing an easily accessible analytical framework across key jurisdictions and typical factual scenarios. ‘Definitely mandatory reading for practitioners and academics alike!’ –Klaus Peter Berger, University of Cologne ‘Everyone who has had or is likely to have a brush with a COVID-19-induced legal issue would be well advised to keep this book within arm’s reach.’ – Davinder Singh, Davinder Singh Chambers LLC, Singapore ‘The “holy book” for all those lawyers whose clients become ensnared in the rising attempts to fix legal liability midst the rampant COVID-19.’ – Charles Brower, Twenty Essex, London

General clauses or standards (Generalklauseln, clauses generales) are legal rules which are not precisely formulated, terms and concepts which in fact do not even have a clear core. They are often applied in varying degrees in various legal systems to a rather wide range of contract cases when certain issues arise issues such as abuse of rights, unfairness, good faith, fairness of duty or loyalty or honesty, duty of care, and other such contract terms not lending themselves readily to clear or permanent definition. Here for the first time is a systematic discussion of this kind of rule in the evolving and dynamic context of European contract law. A collection of twelve insightful essays by leading European law authorities, the book is based on a conference organized jointly by the Society of European Contract Law (SECOLA) and l'association Henri Capitant, held in the `grande salle' of the French Supreme Court in Paris in 2005. The subject is approached along three distinct but interconnected avenues: comparative contract law, in which the different models to be found among Member States particularly the Germanic, French, and English common law systems are explored with an eye to differences and common ground;EC contract law, in which the general clause approach has tended to focus on labour law and consumer law, and in which the European Court of Justice more and more assumes the final say; andthe European codification dimension, in which a potential instrument on the European level would compete with national laws and develop closely with them. The authors demonstrate that a focus on general clauses in contract law, embracing as it does a wide range of types of contracts, helps enormously with the necessary integration of legal scholarship and economic approaches, and of legal science and legal practice in the field. Numerous analytic references to relevant cases and EC Directives give a practical impetus to the far-reaching but immediately applicable theory presented in this important book. As European contract law continues to develop rapidly, this seminal contribution is sure to increase in value and usefulness.

Promises and Contract Law is the first modern work to explore the significance of promise to contract law from a comparative legal perspective. Part I explores the component elements of promise, its role in Greek thought and Roman law, the importance of the moral duty to keep promises and the development of promissory ideas in medieval legal scholarship. Part II considers the modern contract law of a number of legal systems from a promissory perspective. The focus is on the law of England, Germany and three mixed legal systems (Scotland, South Africa and Louisiana), though other legal systems are also mentioned. Major topics subjected to a promissory analysis include formation of contract, third party rights, contractual remedies and the renunciation of contractual rights. Part III analyses the future role which promise might play in contract law, especially within a harmonised European contract law.

The book provides a comparative analysis of the law relating to remedies for breach of contract from the viewpoint of various legal systems.