Unit information: Law of Contract in 2013/14

Unit name	Law of Contract
Unit code	LAWD10008
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Professor. McVea
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	University of Bristol Law School
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

Contract law is a component of the modern law of obligations. Fundamentally, contract law is concerned with the promises which people make to one another. It governs questions such as: which agreements will the law enforce? what obligations are imposed by the agreement in question? and what remedies are imposed if the obligations that have been promised are not fulfilled? Topics covered include: offer and acceptance; consideration and promissory estoppel; intention to create legal relations; privity; illegitimate pressure; express and implied terms, including exclusion and limitation clauses; misrepresentation; mistake; frustration; performance and breach; and remedies.

The unit aims to ensure that students are able to:

• identify and craft a ratio decidendi for any particular contract law case
• demonstrate an in-depth, critical understanding of the application of the rules of contract
• apply the law relating to contracts to complex situations, noting any areas of legal or factual uncertainty
• recognise the strengths and weaknesses of existing case law
• present complex legal arguments in a coherent and persuasive fashion
• analyse and evaluate case law
• synthesise case law

Intended Learning Outcomes

On completing the unit, students will be able to demonstrate a basic working knowledge of the English law of contract as well as the technical and intellectual skills identified above.

Teaching Information

The unit will be taught by a combination of up to 27 lectures, 9 tutorials, with some revision classes

Assessment Information

Formative assessment: problem question (1,000 words) and mid-sessional examination (90 mins). Summative assessment: one 3-hour (unseen) exam consisting of essays and problem questions (100% of mark).

Reading and References

Beatson et al, Ansons Law of Contract 29th edn., OUP, 2010) Chen-Wishart, Contract Law (3rd edn., Oxford, 2010) Cheshire, Fifoot & Furmston, The Law of Contract (15th edn., Oxford, 2007) Peel, Treitel: The Law of Contract (12th edn., Thomson, Sweet & Maxwell, 2007) Koffman & MacDonald, The Law of Contract (7th edn, Oxford, 2010) A Burrows, A Casebook on Contract Law (2nd edn., Hart, 2009)