Category Archives: Contract
Debadatta Bose, ‘The Tort of Irresponsible Contracting: Supply Chain Liability Explained Through Begum v Maran’
ABSTRACT This book chapter challenges the notion that business decisions are isolated from human rights considerations. It places a large emphasis on the UK case of Begum v Maran, where a corporation was held potentially liable in tort for harms in a Bangladeshi shipyard where a ship it sold ended up for demolition. The case […]
Felicia Grey, ‘Contractual Clarity, Context and Commercial Common Sense: Is There a Hierarchy of Approaches under English Law?’
ABSTRACT This study uses a doctrinal analysis of case law to examine whether there is hierarchy of approaches when interpreting commercial contracts in English courts. Using cases from Prenn v Simmonds to Wood v Capita, it shows how the latter has become the latest authority on commercial contractual construction. The study finds that Wood v […]
‘Contract terms, certainty and reasonable endeavours clauses’
Melody Hadfield considers the High Court’s decision in Salem v Salem and the enforceability of ‘reasonable endeavours’ clauses. In Salem and Another v Salem and Others [2024] EWHC 3311, a clause requiring the parties to use ‘reasonable endeavours’ to agree a process for an expert determination was deemed unenforceable. The clause was contained in a […]
‘Debunking the Market-Based Myths of Boilerplate’
Andrea Boyack, ‘Abuse of Contract: Boilerplate Erasure of Consumer Counterparty Rights’, 110 Iowa Law Review 497 (2025). Andrea Boyack’s article, ‘Abuse of Contract: Boilerplate Erasure of Consumer Counterparty Rights’, examines ‘problematic’ provisions in consumer contracts and may be viewed as a companion piece to her previous article, ‘The Shape of Consumer Contracts’ which is more […]
Jinxian Chen, ‘Laesio Enormis: Origin and Historical Evolution’
ABSTRACT The rule of laesio enormis allows the disadvantaged party to circumvent the constraints of a legal transaction when being exploited by the other party, serving as a crucial legal device of private law justice. Originating in late antiquity, laesio enormis was initially implemented as a special intervention to protect vulnerable land sellers. In the […]
Ronald Brand, ‘The Law(s) of the Arbitration Agreement’
ABSTRACT A recent study by the Law Commission of England and Wales has resulted in proposed amendments to the Arbitration Act 1996 that include a default rule that an arbitration agreement will be governed by the law of England and Wales if the arbitration is seated in that territory. Given the importance of London as […]
Marie Reilly, ‘The Unconscionably Short Warranty’
ABSTRACT A typical consumer product warranty covers products for defects that appear before the warranty period expires. If the manufacturer warrants a vehicle for 5 years or 60,000 miles, whichever occurs first, problems that require repairs after the warranty period expires are outside the warranty and therefore the buyer’s problem. Advocates for consumer buyers have […]
Peter Devonshire, ‘Leaving Can Be So Hard: The Liability of a Fiduciary Employee for Breach of Confidence on Termination of the Employment Contract’
ABSTRACT An employee owes common law and equitable duties to his or her employer. Both import duties of fidelity and loyalty. The most significant difference lies in the nature and scope of remedies for breach of those obligations. In this setting, the demarcation between law and equity can be elusive, particularly if an employee occupies […]
Christoph Engel, ‘The Negotiation Trap: An Experiment on a Large Language Model’
ABSTRACT In an experiment on the large language model GPT-4o, a supplier always makes a higher profit if it replaces uniform contract terms with a set of terms between which the customer may choose. The extra profit results from price discrimination. There is a first order and a second order effect. The first order effect […]
Alexandra Kosta-Foti, ‘Money, currency and contracts: an alternative view of RTI Ltd v MUR Shipping BV ’
INTRODUCTION Money and payment are at the epicentre of commercial and financial transactions. Suppose that A and B are in a creditor–debtor relationship. Determining how B can discharge the debt will first depend on the contractual agreement between the parties, but also the unit of account – the measure of the value – of the […]