LEC学习材料-合同法.pdf

法律英语证书全国统一考试委员会 合同法 CONTRACTS In law, a contract is a binding legal agreement that is enforceable in a court of law or by binding arbitration. That is to say, a contract is an exchange of promises with a specific remedy for breach. Agreement is said to be reached when an offer capable of immediate acceptance is met with a mirror image acceptance (i.e., an unqualified acceptance). The parties must have the necessary capacity to contract and the contract must not be either trifling, indeterminate, impossible, or illegal. Breach of contract is recognized by the law and remedies can be provided. As long as the good or service provided is legal, any oral agreement between two parties can constitute a binding legal contract. The practical limitation to this, however, is that only parties to a written agreement have material evidence (the written contract itself) to prove the actual terms uttered at the time the agreement was struck. In daily life, most contracts can be and are made orally, such as purchasing a book or a sandwich. Sometimes written contracts are required by either the parties, or by statutory law within various jurisdiction for certain types of agreement, for example when buying a house or land. National Legal English Certificate Test Committee 1 法律英语证书全国统一考试委员会 Contract formation In common-law systems, the five key requirements for the creation of a contract are: 1. offer and acceptance (agreement) 2. consideration 3. an intention to create legal relations 4. legal capacity 5. formalities Offer and acceptance analysis is a traditional approach in contract