Contract law reform: Legislators or judges – or both?

Acta Juridica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 57-82
Author(s):  
H MacQueen
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Technical Expertise ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Law ◽  
Source Of Information

This essay pursues a theme identified by Dale Hutchison – judges’ use of their technical expertise to achieve creativity in law – and asks how far that may be relied upon by law reform bodies, such as the Law Commissions in the United Kingdom. The question is whether such bodies should take account of means other than legislation for having their recommendations put into effect. It is suggested that, while law reform bodies should be fully aware that their published work is a source of information, ideas and arguments for practitioners and judges which may contribute to the judicial development of the law, they should address themselves only to government and the legislature.

Illegal Earnings

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-80
Author(s):  
James Goudkamp ◽  
Lorenz König
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Tort Law ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Private Law ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Considerable Promise ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Law

AbstractThis article addresses the principles of tort law that govern claims in respect of lost illegal earnings. It focuses on common law jurisdictions (and the law in the United Kingdom in particular) where such claims, despite apparently being commonplace, have been largely ignored by academics. It describes the existing law and calls in aid in this regard a four-fold taxonomy of cases. The article then turns attention to how claims in respect of lost illegal earnings ought to be decided. At this juncture, the article looks to ideas emanating from German tort law, which has developed a highly sophisticated jurisprudence on the subject of illegal earnings. The German approach, stated simply, requires tort law to defer to rules in other departments of private law. If, for example, contract law would not protect an interest that a claimant has in a particular transaction by reason of the transaction being tainted with illegality, tort law will not allow a claimant indirectly to obtain the benefits of that transaction via a claim for lost illegal earnings. It is argued that the German solution holds considerable promise and merits consideration as a serious alternative to the significantly more complicated principles that the common law courts have developed, which principles currently lack any thoroughgoing rationalisation.

scholarly journals Default and Termination of Contract: A comparative Study between Indonesia and The United Kingdom

Yuridika ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 469
Author(s):  
Akhmad Budi Cahyono
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Contractual Relationship ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Injured Party ◽  
The Right

Default is something that often occurs in contractual relationship. It can be not perform its obligations in the contract in all or in a part, performing its obligations but not in accordance with was agreed, performing its obligations but not in time, and performing something that is prohibited in the contract. Due to default, the injured party may claim compensation and / or terminate the contract. The problem is, the Indonesian Civil Code does not specify how a contract can be terminated in case of default. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a comparative study in other countries in terms of how a default can terminate the contract. The British which adopt common law tradition where jurisprudence is the main source of law is the right choice for conducting comparative studies. Countries with common law traditions have detailed legal rules based on jurisprudence. As in Indonesia, according to British contract law, defaults also can terminate the contract. However, unlike in Indonesia, according to British contract law, termination due to a default is only allowed in the event that the default is very serious. The very serious forms of default will be elaborated and become a part of the discussion in this paper.

scholarly journals CHOICE OF ISLAMIC LAW AS THE GOVERNING LAW IN ISLAMIC FINANCE CONTRACTS: THE UNITED KINGDOM AND NIGERIAN PERSPECTIVES

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kareem Adebayo Olatoye ◽  
Abubakri Yekini
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Islamic Finance ◽  
Unique Problem ◽  
Party Autonomy ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Muslim Majority ◽  
The Law ◽  
Governing Law

The globalisation of Islamic finance has brought the adjudication of Islamic finance disputes before non-Muslim courts and arbitral tribunals in Europe, America and elsewhere. Expectedly, the issue of the validity of the selecting Islamic law as the governing law of an Islamic finance contract often arises before these courts and tribunals. The article seeks to address the attitude of the United Kingdom and Nigerian courts to this unique problem. The thesis of the paper is that while the parties’ reasonable expectations in having their Islamic finance contracts governed by the Shari’ah may be met in Nigeria and by extension in other Muslim-majority countries, the contrary is the case in the United Kingdom and Europe where the courts do not generally favour the application of Islamic law. The paper advocates that the doctrine of the proper law of contract should be extended to Islamic finance by upholding Islamic law as the law selected by the parties (on the basis of party autonomy) or alternatively, as the system of law with which an Islamic finance transaction is most closely connected.

scholarly journals Qualification of Concepts and its Problems in Cases with Foreign Element in Poland and the United Kingdom

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-74
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Bagan-Kurluta
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
International Law ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Functional Method ◽  
Internal Source ◽  
Private International Law ◽  
Uniform Approach ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Foreign Law ◽  
The Law

Abstract Qualification is the basic instrument used in the process of application of the law. It is impossible to apply the law without conducting it. The main internal source of collision law in Poland, Act of private international law dated February 4th, 2011, does not specify how to carry on the process of the qualification, and doctrine is of the opinion that the Polish court applying foreign law should interpret the foreign concepts according to the rules of this law and give them such meanings as this law assigns to them. But also there are four doctrinal proposals concerning methods of qualification. The first one (with various modifications) is relatively popular in a number of countries, while the Polish doctrine has the greatest respect for the latter: 1) lex fori approach, 2) lex causae approach, 3) autonomous method and 4) functional method (or collision lex fori approach). The English judge applying the rules derived from his own internal law remembers about the function of private international law - and therefore takes into account the rules and institutions adopted in the foreign laws. That is application of lex fori approach modified because of the function of collision law, indeed reminiscent of a functional method. However, due to the lack of a uniform approach to qualification and identification of the only way to proceed by the doctrine and case law, it is permissible to move away from the use of this method. For instance it is possible to use the lex causae approach, if it leads to an equitable solution. Lack of regulation of qualification gives a person applying the law a freedom, but at the same time leads to uncertainty about the effects.

Surrogacy and public policy

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 588-595
Author(s):  
Elaine O’Callaghan
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Commercial Surrogacy ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Law

The Supreme Court in the United Kingdom has held that it is not contrary to public policy to award damages in tort to fund a commercial surrogacy in another jurisdiction where this is lawful. This significant decision, in the case of Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX [2020] UKSC 14, will potentially have an impact on the regulation and reform of surrogacy law in the United Kingdom, Ireland and internationally. The judgment delivered by Lady Hale draws attention to multiple inconsistencies in the law, and it highlights, in particular, the need for effective regulation of domestic surrogacy. Legislators face an important and imminent challenge to reconcile the reality of commercial surrogacy with a deficient legal framework. This article seeks to highlight some of the important issues which this case has raised when considering regulation and reform of surrogacy law.

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