Law of Contract Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Law of Contract - Essay Example The magnitude of the contract was such that notice of termination would be at least three years. The appeal court that decided for the defendant held that there could be no assumption of a contract for an indefinite period. The lower court had observed that in order for the contract to be enforceable, parties intention must be so certain without the court having to write a contract for them. And that in the instant case there had been no certainty as to the continuance of the contract for an indefinite period or a requirement of sufficient notice for termination of contract. It also stated that no implied contract to that effect could be inferred.2 Although the facts and circumstances of the case would appear to make it a deserving case for the plaintiff, they are denied of the relief for want of certainty which could be ascertained only by way of reducing the required terms to a written contract to that effect. This paper examines whether the requirement of certainty has to be much too rigid. Meaning of certainty The fact that the defendant had deliberately avoided making any such written commitment to the plaintiff as averred by the plaintiff themselves shows that they had been aware of uncertainty involved and that they had a forewarning that they should reduce such terms of notice period termination to writing. Their inaction proves to be fatal to the contract’s continuity. Thus, even after compliance with the rules of offer and acceptance and other elements essential for the formation of contract, a contract cannot be enforced by a court if it is marred by ‘vagueness and incompleteness’. In long-term contracts, parties may not be able to set a fixed price because of fluctuation in market conditions. A contract without a fixed price is not necessarily vague or incomplete. Therefore, The Sale of Goods Act 1979 makes a provision in section 8 for price to be agreed after the contract formation.3 As early as in 1932, the issue of vagueness a nd incompleteness was dealt with in Hillas & Co V Arcos Ltd. 4 The court in this case heavily relied on the formality so as to put the agreement strictly business-like unlike in social relationships. In this case, the seller Arcos contracted with the buyer Hillas for supply of Russian timber for one year 1930. The seller also agreed with the buyer for his option to purchase timber of ‘fair specification’ for the next year 1931 also. But the seller could not supply timber to the buyer for the next year as he had fully sold out his timber to another party. When sued by Hillas for breach of contract, it was argued that agreement for supply in 1931 was uncertain and hence void for uncertainty. House of Lords disagreed for the reason that the words ‘fair specification’ were sufficient to lend precision i.e certainty to make a binding contract. Lord Wright explains how certainty in law and flexibility in business could be aligned. He states that most of the busin ess agreements are recorded in crude and summary fashion. The words that appear to the business community as sufficient and precise may appear to others as incomplete and imprecise. As such, the court is entrusted with the responsibility of interpreting documents fairly and broadly without being fault-finding. At the same time, it is not for the court to write contract for

It's Beginning to Hurt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

It's Beginning to Hurt - Essay Example He gets astonished to see a young woman that his father was marrying. Although he lacks authority over his father’s choice in marriage, he commands to a great extend through his facial expression that the woman was not the best for his father. The father is the most authoritative person in the setup. He cautions his son not to send a message that can instigate his wife to leave him for his son. The father who is now a widower had earlier been a victim of infidelity in his marriage and were not ready to face the situation again. The newly wedded wife also shows some authority when she offers to embrace her stepson. The son had missed the nuptial, but heads to the reception. He was dressed in a muddy clothes after getting stuck into the mud on his way to the wedding. The mud he got stuck in acted as a cleansing agent for the admiration of his father’s wife. His stepmother embraces him in his muddy clothes as a way of showing him love and as an authority that she will love him just like her son. The three characters best demonstrates the authoritative personality in the