Differences Between Duress And Undue Influence

A contract is a bargain which two or more parties entered into voluntarily with a lawful object, each of whom intends to create one or more legal responsibility between them in law. Thus, a contract may be formed when two or more parties each promise to perform or to refrain from performing a little action now or in the future. (Boston, T. 1779) What is more, contract law shows what promises or commitments our society believes should be legally binding. Similarly, Professor Arthur Corbin's (1874–1967) famous first axiom of contract law is that the main purpose of law is the realization of reasonable expectations induced by promises. Hence, comments demonstrate that the purpose of contract law is to protect legal promises or commitments between two or more parties which build a

An example of duress is having one party forcing another party to sign a contract at gunpoint. In the case Kreet v Sampir duress was used by Ms Kreet’s father as he claimed that he would have her boyfriend’s mother and sisters kidnapped and

t. P1) An agreement cannot bind unless both parties to the agreement know what they are doing and freely choose to do it.

-Coercion. The merchant or merchant’s agent, such as a store security guard, may not attempt to coerce payment, or appear to officially arrest the detained party, nor attempt to obtain a confession.

Coercion of any kind, whether physical or psychological is prohibited…(Silberblatt). This being the case, why is the Criminal Justice system permitted to make promises and threats in order to induce defendants to give up all of their constitutional rights, which

Mutual assent and consideration go together so this paper will argue against them together. Mutual assent is the idea that all the parties in a contract know what they are contracting to and agree to it. As defined in Charles S. Knapp, Nathan M. Crystal, and Harry G. Prince’s Problems in

A contract comes into existence with the initiation of an offer made by one party, which in turn should be ‘accepted’ by the other party. The element of offer and acceptance thus initiate the legal process of the formation of a valid and binding contract. The significance of acceptance with respect to the contract laws stems from the fact that the proposed offer must be accepted by the promisee and forthwith be communicated to the promisor. Together offer and acceptance create a promise which can

A contract is an exchange of promises or a promise in exchange for performance, for breach of which the law gives a remedy, per Restatement 2nd of Contracts §1. For the contract to be valid there has to be mutual assent, parties mutually agree upon the same specific thing. Per Restatement 2nd of Contracts §54, there are two types of contracts: unilateral, where acceptance is by performance, and bilateral, where there is an exchange of mutual promises and both of the parties have the rights and duties.

(b) he attempts or threatens, by an act or a gesture, to apply force to another person, if he has, or causes that other person to believe on reasonable grounds that he has, present ability to effect his purpose; …” (Criminal Code, 1985)

In a society where there is diversity in terms of social functions, personal beliefs, professional skills, and socioeconomic backgrounds, etc., and where individuals act out their unique personalities with a high degree of autonomy, mutual relationship are largely regulated through contracts. Due to the prevailing differences, there hardly exists a set of concrete social norms grounded in identical values that regulates the details of social interactions and constrains individual actions. Rather, contracts set binding limits on the duties and obligations both at the present and in the future for individuals reaching mutual agreements. The binding nature of contracts specifies certain conditions that limit the autonomy of individual choices and hence establish order in social interactions.

A Contract requires several elements in order to be considered enforceable. However for the purpose of this essay we would explore one of these elements in order to effectively understand the controversial cases of Williams v Roffey Brothers and Nicholls (contractors) Ltd (1990) and Stilk v Myrick (1804). Before going any further one should briefly understand the doctrine of Consideration. Despite the vast amount of content written, the doctrine of consideration is still to this day unclear due to the inconsistency of the courts and its application of necessary rules. Consideration refers to that which the law deems as valuable in that the promisor receives from the promise that which was promised. In other words, it is the exchange of something of value between the parties in a contract. One should be mindful that in English law, every promise may not be legally enforceable; it requires the court to distinguish between are enforceable and non-enforceable obligations. This brings us to the controversial cases of Stilk v Myrick and Williams v the Roffery brothers. Many argue that that the case of Williams was wrongly decided leading to impairments in the rule initially established in Stilk v Myrick. This essay seek to analyse and critique the cases of Stilk v Myrick and Williams v Roffey Brothers and also highlight whether or not the new rule of Practical benefit lead to serious impairments in later cases.

Contracts are used in many different forms and for just as many different situations within our everyday lives. Some contracts are more involved than others and for some; contracts are an essential of their success. As we continue, we will take a look at different types of contracts with the main focus on enforceable contracts. With so many elements that are incorporated into any contract, the six essential elements of enforceable contracts will be the main focus of this writing. Having a clearer understanding of the essentials of life will help prepare us for life’s curves that may come our way.

Introduction: In this assignment I will go over a few legal terms in relation to contract law. I will also talk about a few precedents that help explain the law.

Contractual agreement has always been viewed in terms of offer and acceptance. The universal principle to contract law has always been parties may get into an agreement in whichever way they deem fit and they are subject to certain terms as they choose. As far as legal requirements vital to their formation are binding contracts may be formed. Moreover a binding agreement may be manifested in terms of writing or in verbal form.

Before unilateral contracts come into place, contract law is about a promise for a promise. Cases such as Carlill v Carbonic Smoke Ball Co. have shown how the contract law has adapted to accommodate this form of contract. Judges seek to identify consideration and acceptance in unilateral contracts whilst managing to achieve a balance between protecting reasonable expectation of an honest man and retaining respect for the sanctity of contract.