Admission requirements
Bachelor degree in law and sufficient knowledge of the English language.
Description
This course will study in detail certain aspects of the English law of contract, including the formation of contracts, the doctrine of consideration, the grounds on which a contract may be set aside, the principles applied by the courts to the interpretation of contracts, the grounds on which a contract may be terminated and remedies for breach of contract.
The principal working method is the analysis of cases (court decisions) in order to ascertain the law that is established by that case and, prompted by the questions contained in the reading list, to examine the limits of, and the basis for, these decisions. The fundamental rules of English contract law are not contained in any statutory text, but are to be found principally in the common law—the law which has been devised and developed by the courts over the centuries. Statutes have intervened to change particular common law rules relating to contract law and in modern times have intervened increasingly in the context of consumer contracts (a topic which will not be considered in this course). But the fundamental rules are found in cases, including cases dating back to the 19th century or even earlier.
Course objectives
The purpose will be not only to discover the essential nature of English Contract Law, but also to use the law of contract as a starting point for learning about legal reasoning and how to find and apply the law in a common law system. There will be an opportunity to compare this method with the civil lawyer’s approach to legal reasoning, as well as to compare differences between English law and the law of other common law jurisdictions (such as the United States and Australia).
At the end of this course, students have a good understanding of the nature and content of a number of core issues in contemporary English Contract Law and the differences between the common lawyer’s and the civil lawyer’s approach to legal reasoning.
Timetable
The timetable of this course can be found in uSis.
Mode of instruction
Lectures None.
Seminars
Number of (2 hour) seminars: 10 (two seminars each week)
Required preparation by students: Mandatory weekly reading assignments. Students are required to read the relevant sections of E. McKendrick's Contract Law: Text Cases and Materials (see below). The reading list will direct students to the small number of cases that will be the focus of attention in the class and will also set out a list of questions to be considered in advance of the class. During class meetings Prof. McKendrick will expect students to participate in discussing the caes which have been assigned and to discuss the answers to the questions to be found in the reading list.
Assessment method
Examination form(s) : 3-hour written examination (open book; questions will be in English and answers are to be written in English).
The retake will be a written exam.
Regulation retake passed exams
In this course it is possible to retake an exam that has been passed (cf. art. 4.1.8.1 and further of the Course and Examination Regulations), on the condition that this course is included in the compulsory components of the degree programme. Students who have passed the exam may retake the final written assessment (test) of the course. Please contact the Student Administration Office (OIC) for more information, or check the course and exam enrolment on the students website.
Submission procedures
None.
Areas to be tested within the exam
The general principles of English contract law, with a focus on the particular topics covered in the seminars; the techniques of analyzing English cases and assessing their implications and limits.
Blackboard
More information on this course is offered in “Blackboard”: http://blackboard.leidenuniv.nl/.
Reading list
Obligatory course materials
Reader: English Contract Law
The background to the particular cases which will be studied in detail (see ‘Description’) is found in textbooks. The book which students will be expected to use is:
- E. McKendrick, Contract Law: Text Cases and Materials (8th ed. OUP, 2018).
Registration
See uSis.
Contact information
Course coordinator: mw. mr. G.M. Veldt
Contact: via email
Email address: mastercivielrecht@law.leidenuniv.nl
Institution/division
Institute: Private Law
Department: Civil Law
Room number secretary: KOG, B2.43
Opening hours: 9.30 – 13:30 hrs
Telephone number secretariat: 071 – 527 7381
Remarks
None.