Business Contracts (Byte Size Skills Course)

Business Contracts (Byte Size Skills Course)

In this course you will be introduced to the law of contracts. If there is one pervasive activity in the world of commerce it is involvement in contract. All of the following are achieved through the medium of contracts. It is essential, therefore, that you learn and understand the basic rules which govern contractual relationships.

• sales of goods and the provision of services
• the employment of workers
• the occupation of premises
• transportation of materials and goods.

At the end of this course you will be able to:

• define what a contract is
• describe how the agreement which is the basis of a contract is achieved and signified q recognize when agreements will be legally binding
• explain how the parties make their agreement legally enforceable
• explain the effect on the contract of flaws in the making of that contract
• evaluate the impact on a contract of problems concerning certainty, lack of capacity and lack of formality
• recognize the effect on a contract of untrue statements made during its negotiation
• identify the contents of a contractual agreement and the various types of contractual terms
• explain the controls imposed on the exclusion or limitation of liability for breaking the terms of a contract
• describe the various ways contracts can be brought to an end at some point prior to complete fulfilment of the parties' obligations
• consider and evaluate the factors which influence the availability of compensation for losses suffered from a breach of contractual obligations
• identify and describe remedies other than damages which may be available to the victims of a breach of contract.

 

Section One: Making a Contract

What is a contract?

Creating the contract

Agreement - offer

Concluding the agreement - acceptance

Intention to create legal relations

Consideration

Summary of section one

Section Two: What Can Go Wrong During the Making of a Contract and how it affects the contract

Lack of certainty

Lack of necessary formality

Lack of capacity

Illegal contracts

Misrepresentation

Summary of section two

Section Three: Contractual Terms

The contents of a contract

Terms and pre-contractual statements

Contractual terms - express and implied

Conditions, warranties and innominate terms

Terms which exclude or limit liability

Summary of section three

Section Four: Discharging a Contract

How contracts come to an end

Discharge by performance

Discharge by agreement

Discharge by breach of contract

Frustration of contracts

Remedies

Summary of section four

Additional questions

Additional questions: guidance

Tutor-marked Question Paper

Reading list