who initially make the agreement, the identity of the parties may be affected by
such matters as agency, assignment and novation of the contract.
(2)
Terms. Terms of the contract may be (i) express terms, that is
those
specifically agreed on by the parties, (ii) implied terms, that is terms implied by
the courts or (iii) statutory terms, that is
terms imposed on the contract by
statute.
Termination
Once made the contract may come to an end in any of three ways:
(1)
Each party performs their side of the agreement. In this case each party
gets what they bargained for.
(2)
There is a breach of contract. One party does not perform, that is they
do not carry out their promises. In this case the wronged party can take action;
if the breach is major (breach of a condition) they can terminate the contract
and sue for damages, while if the breach if less than major (breach of a
warranty) they cannot terminate but they can sue for damages. This, it is worth
saying, is the whole point to contract law. It compels a party to keep their
promises or to pay the consequences.
(3)
The contract may cease in any of several ways that do not involve
performance or breach. For example the contract may be frustrated, or be
discharged by operation of a term of the contract.
Other Remedies
A contract or an attempted contract may generate other remedies besides
contractual remedies based on the main contract. These remedies can
conveniently be placed into two categories.
First, some of these remedies arise because of things said or done in the
course of negotiating the contract. These remedies can arise when a statement
made in the course of negotiating has criminal or civil consequences or both.
For example, a false statement made in negotiation may be actionable in tort
for negligent misrepresentation or deceit.
Second, there may be an action that does not depend on things said or done in
the course of negotiation. An example is a statutory action against a
manufacturer or importer of defective goods under Div 2A of Pt V of the
Trade Practices Act 1974
(Cth). The basis of the action is that goods
supplied to a consumer are in some way defective.
Constitutional Law
Introduction
Constitutional law is the law regulating government. The provisions of
constitutional law deal with two items, institutions of government and the
government’s source of power:
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