Contract Law

Philosophical Foundations of Contract Law

Edited by Gregory Klass · George Letsas · Prince Saprai
Oxford University Press October 2016

Specifications

ISBN-13
9780198713029
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Publication
October 2016
Format
Paperback , 416 pages
Jurisdiction
U.K. ? Countri(es) for reference only

Also available as

Details

  • Identifies key questions and issues underlying the philosophy of contract law, providing a point of entry into cutting-edge research in the field
  • Includes contributions from leading legal philosophers and contract law specialists
  • Sheds new light on controversial doctrinal debates including contract formation, contract interpretation, unfair terms, the principle of good faith, defences, and remedies

In recent years there has been a revival of interest in the philosophical study of contract law. In 1981 Charles Fried claimed that contract law is based on the philosophy of promise and this has generated what is today known as 'the contract and promise debate'. Cutting to the heart of contemporary discussions, this volume brings together leading philosophers, legal theorists, and contract lawyers to debate the philosophical foundations of this area of law.
Divided into two parts, the first explores general themes in the contract theory literature, including the philosophy of promising, the nature of contractual obligation, economic accounts of contract law, and the relationship between contract law and moral values such as personal autonomy and distributive justice. The second part uses these philosophical ideas to make progress in doctrinal debates, relating for example to contract interpretation, unfair terms, good faith, vitiating factors, and remedies. Together, the essays provide a picture of the current state of research in this revitalized area of law, and pave the way for future study and debate.

Readership: Moral, legal, and political philosophers; students of law and philosophy; academics teaching contract law and theory

Table of Contents

Gregory Klass: Introduction
Part I: Theoretical Approaches
1: Charles Fried: The Ambitions of Contract as Promise
2: Randy E. Barnett: Contract is not Promise; Contract is Consent
3: Joseph Raz: Is There a Reason to Keep a Promise?
4: Daniel Owens: Does a Promise Transfer a Right?
5: Dori Kimel: Personal Autonomy and Change of Mind in Promise and in Contract
6: J.E. Penner: Promises, Agreements, and Contracts
7: Charlie Webb: Contract as Fact and as Reason
8: Liam Murphy: The Practice of Promise and Contract
9: Avery W. Katz: Economic Foundations of Contract Law
10: Aditi Bagchi: Distributive Justice and Contract
Part II: Doctrinal Analysis
11: Margaret Jane Radin: 1. An Analytic Framework for Legal Evaluation of Boilerplate
12: Lisa Bernstein: Merchant Law in a Modern Economy
13: Daniel Markovits: Good Faith as Contract's Core Value
14: Mindy Chen-Wishart: The Nature of Vitiating Factors in Contract Law
15: George Letsas and Prince Saprai: Mitigation, Fairness and Contract Law
16: Stephen A. Smith: Remedies for Breach of Contract: One Principle or Two?
17: Gregory Klass: Efficient Breach

About the Author

Gregory Klass is Professor of Law at Georgetown University. His works include Insincere Promises (with Ian Ayres, Yale, 2005), and Contract Law in the USA (Kluwer, 2nd ed. 20 12).

George Letsas is Reader in Philosophy of Law and Human Rights at University College, London. His work includes A Theory of Interpretation of the ECHR (OUP, 2007).

Prince Saprai is Lecturer in Law at University College, London. His research focuses on the theory of private law.

Contributors: 
Aditi Bagchi is Associate Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law. 
Randy E. Barnett is Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Legal Theory at Georgetown University Law Center. 
Lisa Bernstein is Wilson-Dickenson Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. 
Mindy Chen-Wishart is Reader in Contract Law and Fellow and Tutor in Law at Merton College, University of Oxford, and Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore. 
Charles Fried is Beneficial Professor of Law at Harvard University Law School. 
Avery W. Katz is Milton Handler Professor of Law at Columbia University Law School.
Dori Kimel is Reader in Legal Philosophy and Fellow and Tutor in Law at New College, University of Oxford. 
Gregory Klass is Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center. 
George Letsas is Reader in Philosophy of Law and Human Rights at University College London Faculty of Laws. 
Daniel Markovits is Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Liam Murphy is Herbert Peterfreund Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy at New York University School of Law. 
David Owens is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Reading Department of Philosophy.
James E. Penner is Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore. 
Margaret Jane Radin is Henry King Ransom Professor of Law at the University of Michigan School of Law, and Distinguished Research Scholar, University of Toronto Faculty of Law. 
Joseph Raz is Thomas M. Macioce Professor of Law at Columbia University Law School, and Research Professor at King's College London Dickson Poon School of Law. 
Prince Saprai is a Lecturer at University College London Faculty of Laws. 
Stephen A. Smith is James McGill Professor at McGill University Faculty of Law.
Charlie Webb is an Associate Professor at London School of Economics and Political Science Department of Law.

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