Contracts are part and parcel of our everyday life. It is one of the foundational courses in law school. Although it is taught in the initial years of law school, it is perhaps one of the most important subjects. One could say that 90% of all commercial legal disputes involve some element of contract law. In that sense having a thorough grounding in contracts is essential for any practitioner. This course is aimed at students and is specifically designed with their syllabus in mind. However, practitioners may also use this course as a refresher for some fundamental concepts. Contract law also remains the foundational subject for many competitive examinations and MBA schools. Given the way that this course is designed, it will serve as a convenient source for covering the syllabus of such examinations and the requirements of MBA students.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

1. Examination Pointers.
2. Access to full text of all cases (56 in Module 1) that are included in a typical law school syllabus.
3. Access to a discussion forum.

Instructor

ABHINANDAN MALIK

Abhinandan Malik with his extensive knowledge in the area of Contract Law. He is Director Publications at EBC. He has 10 + years of editorial experience, guiding and editing publications at EBC. He is a graduate of NALSAR University of Law with an LLM from the University of Toronto. At the U of T he specialised in private law. His thesis was on the Horizontal Application of Fundamental Rights.

1. Introduction

• • 1.1 Welcome

2. Public law, private law and the common law

• • 2.1 Introduction
  • 2.2 Is contract law part of public law or private law & does it matter?
  • 2.3 Sources of the law of civil wrongs
  • 2.4 Subdivisions of the law of civil wrongs—Contract, tort, unjust enrichment and equity
  • 2.5 Overlap in the application of one or more bodies of law and extending private law
  • 2.6 Private law chart
  • 2.7 Exercises

3. Origin and function of contract law

• • 3.1 Collaborating for survival and progress
  • 3.2 Instinctive collaboration to contracts
  • 3.3 Exercises

4. Formation of an agreement/ potential contract

• • 4.1 Introduction: Creating an agreement

5. Offer

• • 5.1 What is an offer?
  • 5.2 Invitation to treat—Ads & displayed goods
  • 5.3 Invitation to treat—Auctions & tenders
  • 5.5 Exercises set 1
  • 5.6 Exercises set 2
  • 5.7 Examination pointers
  • 5.8 Full text of leading cases

6. Acceptance

• • 6.1 Promisor—the master of the bargain
  • 6.2 Acceptance must be a mirror image of the offer: counter offers
  • 6.3 Motive of acceptance is irrelevant, but knowledge of the offer is essential
  • 6.4 Reasonable period for acceptance
  • 6.5 Acceptance must be communicated, knowledge of acceptance is not sufficient
  • 6.6 Postal communication rule
  • 6.7 Acceptance by performing conditions of the proposal
  • 6.8 Exercises set 1
  • 6.9 Exercises set 2
  • 6.10 Exercise set 3
  • 6.11 Examination pointers
  • 6.12 Full text of leading cases

7. Unilateral contracts

• • 7.1 Unilateral offers: only one side is bound
  • 7.2 Communication of acceptance by performance
  • 7.3 Revocation of unilateral offers
  • 7.4 Exercises
  • 7.5 Examination pointers
  • 7.6 Full text of leading cases

8. Requirements for an agreement to be a contract

• • 8.1 Introduction

9. Intention to create legal relations

• • 9.1 Intent and informal promises
  • 9.2 Intent and puffery
  • 9.3 No intent in domestic arrangements
  • 9.4 Where intent exists in domestic arrangements
  • 9.5 Where intent exists in informal social arrangements
  • 9.6 Presumption of intent in commercial cases
  • 9.7 Exercises
  • 9.8 Examination pointers
  • 9.10 Full text of leading cases

10. Certainty

• • 10.1 Contractual terms must be certain
  • 10.2 Exercises
  • 10.3 Full text of leading cases

11. Free consent

• • 11.1 One must consent and the consent must be free

12. Competency to contract

• • 12.1 Competency to contract
  • 12.2 Exercises
  • 12.3 Examination pointers
  • 12.4 Full text of leading cases

13. Lawful consideration and object

• • 13.1 Consideration
  • 13.2 Consideration must be exchanged
  • 13.3 Gifts
  • 13.4 Past consideration for acts done at request
  • 13.5 Executed consideration for a new promise given later
  • 13.6 Lawful consideration with lawful object
  • 13.7 Exercises
  • 13.8 Examination pointers
  • 13.9 Full text of leading cases

14. Consideration: Desire of the promisor

• • 14.1 Consideration must be given ‘at the desire of the promisor’
  • 14.2 When consideration is not at the desire of the promisor
  • 14.3 Consideration from 'promisee or any other person'
  • 14.4 Exercises
  • 14.5 Examination pointers
  • 14.6 Full text of leading cases

15. Consideration: Minimal, worthless and inadequate

• • 15.1 Minimal but sufficient consideration
  • 15.2 Worthless consideration
  • 15.3 Inadequate consideration as evidence of unequal bargaining power
  • 15.4 Consideration and unilateral contracts
  • 15.5 Exercises
  • 15.6 Examination pointers
  • 15.7 Full text of leading cases

16. Consideration: Pre-existing duties

• • 16.1 Pre-existing obligation—Subsisting obligations
  • 16.2 Re-negotiation based on practical benefit
  • 16.3 Practical benefit: English versus Indian law
  • 16.4 Exercises
  • 16.5 Examination pointers
  • 16.6 Full text of cases

17. Concluding module one

• • 17.1 To conclude

18. INDEX (Full text of cases)

• • 18.1 INDEX: Full text of cases