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This article presents information on Samuel Richardson, an author and his plans for contracts as a parliamentary printer. At first, it was assumed that Richardson refers only to official government contracts. The contract involved was enormous—the task included printing not only recent transcriptions but also manuscript records of sessions dating back to 1547, so that Richardson was embroiled for the rest of his life in a massive Shandean catch-up operation that was only nearing completion in 1761, the year of his death, when the proceedings to November 1757 had just appeared.

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We experimentally investigate behavior in sequential one-shot transactions which are governed by non-binding contracts. In a second, incomplete information treatment, contracts are binding for some players. While according to traditional game-theoretical analysis no trade is expected in the first treatment, full trade should result in the latter. However, we find that trade is even higher in the non-binding contract treatment. On the one hand, non-binding contracts—although they are cheap talk—do guide behavior, especially at the beginning of a business relationship, while reciprocal reactions prevail later on. On the other hand, in the treatment with binding contracts cooperative behavior appears to be crowded out. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erie Railroad v. Tompkins is a cornerstone of modern American law. Erie overturned Swift v. Tyson, a case that had stood for nearly a century with minimal objection. Swift involved the negotiability of commercial paper and the case held that in disputes heard in federal courts under diversity jurisdiction the court should use traditional common law methods to resolve the case rather than feeling bound by the state court decisions. Correspondence between Harvard Law School's Lon Fuller and Yale's Arthur Corbin--arguably the two greatest Contracts Law professors of the mid-Twentieth Century--reveals widespread ridicule and dismay among commercial lawyers and scholars following Erie. In a letter to Corbin, Fuller quote the great Harvard Constitutional Law scholar Reed Powell as saying the Supreme Court "pulled a brodie" in Erie. This article reviews Erie from the perspective of commercial law, rather than the public law commentary that has dominated discussion of the Erie doctrine since its birth, seeking to understand the depth of contempt for Erie among commercial lawyers in terms of its consequences, reasoning, and jurisprudential approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2012, the Australian Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department published a Discussion Paper which explored the prospect of codifying or otherwise reforming the Australian law of contract. There is little reason to think that the codification of the Australian law of contract is likely to be embarked upon in the foreseeable future. At the same time, recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in codification in Britain. This paper examines the experience of contract codification efforts in Australia with a view to identifying a number of cautionary lessons. It focuses on two challenges inherent in contract codification which have been given too little attention by the proponents of reform in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates how the contract theory framework can and should complement standard financial mathematics for analysing Islamic financial securities (IFSs). It is motivated by the perception that most valuations of IFSs are rather simplistic and are as simple as risk and reward, leading to very simplistic investment strategies, especially by buyers. In fact, there are more dimensions to IFSs and IF in general which can only be properly analysed with more advanced approaches, such as contractual issues which are well-recognised and discussed in the fields of Islamic commercial law and contract theory but not always considered in valuation models. Contract theory can bring together financial mathematics and contractual issues, providing a more sophisticated framework for analysing IFSs. This paper aims to demonstrate this by providing a brief outline of the contract theory approach, followed by a simple demonstration of its use in the analysis of diminishing mush¯arakah (DM) contracts. The resulting model led to three main conclusions regarding DM contracts: That (i) finance seekers have no ready incentive to spend on asset maintenance, (ii) finance seekers will only spend on asset maintenance if their marginal benefit from the asset's appreciation is greater than the financier's share of the asset, and (iii) if the magnitude of asset appreciation and depreciation is equal, an increase in either will also increase the optimal level of spending on asset maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Review of Contract Law is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on the decision of a U.S. court, given in the year 1966, in the lawsuit International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, Local 874 v. St. Regis Paper Co. The court decided that where the arbitrator's interpretation of the contract is not so wholly impermissible as to be arbitrary or capricious, his award will not be set aside.

This paper presents a principal-agent model in which the agent becomes strictly better informed than the principal after the contract agreement. To mitigate the inefficiency caused by this information asymmetry, the principal and agent agree that the agent will communicate the private information to the principal. They can further reduce this inefficiency by hiring a utility-maximizing auditor, whose effort is not observable, to attest to the validity of the agent's message. To improve efficiency with this attestation, the principal must motivate the auditor to audit effectively and to report honestly. Thus, hiring a utility-maximizing auditor to mitigate the inefficiency in the principal-agent contractual relationship may introduce a moral hazard problem and a new source of inefficiency. Our objectives are (a) to characterize an optimal pair of contracts (principal-agent and principal-auditor) so as (b) to analyze both how hiring the auditor improves the principal-agent contractual relationship and how the principal overcomes the moral hazard problem with the auditor, and (c) to identify conditions which are sufficient to ensure that hiring a utility-maximizing auditor improves efficiency. In section 2, we introduce our model and relate it to others in the literature. Section 3 presents the major results, and section 4 summarizes the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Review of Contract Law is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Review of Contract Law is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship among negative media coverage, law environment and tunneling of controlling shareholders. Design/methodology/approach - Under the Chinese especial institutional background, this paper empirically test the relationship among negative media coverage, law environment and tunneling of controlling shareholders with the sample of 2009-2011 Chinese listed companies. Findings - The empirical results demonstrate that negative media coverage can reduce tunneling of controlling shareholder, and compared with state-owned listed companies, negative media coverage have a greater effect on tunneling in non-state-owned listed companies; and negative media coverage have a greater effect on tunneling in areas with better law environment. Further study shows that the reduction of controlling shareholder's behavior of tunneling can improve company performance, and the improvement is more significant in non-state-owned listed companies and areas with better law environment. The research results indicate that media coverage play a very active role on restraining stakeholder's behavior and perfecting corporate governing. Originality/value - First, this paper will study of tunneling from the perspective of media coverage for the first time. Second, this paper further analyzes how the decrease of tunneling improves corporate performance following the research of how media coverage influence tunneling. Third, this study enrich literatures about the effects of media coverage on corporate governance in Chinese capital market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business law includes contractual, labor, corporate, tax and other relations. However, the purpose of the study is to highlight and analyze only few interesting issues since it is physically impossible to cover all its aspects within the framework of one article. First of all, it is necessary to determine the legal basis for doing business in Germany and then -- the features of starting and doing business. Therefore, this paper serves as a concise methodological guide to the regulation of the business environment in Germany. In this sense, the study examines the legal forms of doing business recognized in Germany, the legal possibilities for establishing various contractual or labor relations with contractors, as well as the grounds for corporate or private liability in case of violation of the rules. Model of corporate governance, external liability and internal corporate governance issues are of particular interest in Germany. The study confirms that the basis for regulation of various aspects of doing business in Germany is specific. The principle of direct corporate liability to creditors is common in Germany but the principle of piercing the corporate veil is allowed if the relevant prerequisites are present. However, business contracts in Germany are based on a narrow approach of contract terms regulation compared to the United States. Hearing of cases by specialized judges in Germany ensures a better and fairer judicial system in labor disputes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (hereinafter referred to as OHADA) was created on 17 October 1993 to foster economic development in Africa by creating a uniform and secure legal framework for the conduct of business in Africa. In an effort to reform the law of contracts in its Member States, OHADA has prepared the Preliminary Draft of the Uniform Act on the Law of Obligations (hereinafter referred to as the Preliminary Draft). Several provisions of the Preliminary Draft set forth general principles concerning choice of law in international commercial contracts. Indeed, the Preliminary Draft encompasses innovative provisions on party autonomy in international contracts, such as the explicit recognition of the right of parties to choose the law applicable to their contracts and the inclusion of limited exceptions to party autonomy (overriding mandatory rules and public policy). Yet, it still needs to be improved in respect of various issues, including for instance the ability of parties to choose different laws to apply to distinct parts of their contract and the possibility for the parties to expressly include in their choice of law the private international law rules of the chosen law. This paper analyses the provisions of the Preliminary Draft in the light of the Hague Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts (hereinafter referred to as the Hague Principles). More particularly, it explores how the Hague Principles can help refine the rules on party autonomy contained in the Preliminary Draft to enhance legal certainty and predictability in the OHADA region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose In an industrial marketing context of manufacturer–distributor collaboration, this law and economics paper aims to contrast two approaches to contracting: conventional and strategic.Design/methodology/approach Based on relational rent theory, this paper provides an analytical framework for juxtaposing conventional and strategic contracting. A contingency approach is applied to formulate propositions as to when conventional versus strategic contracting is preferable.Findings The distinction between conventional and strategic contracting has implications as to whether relational governance substitutes or complements formal contracts (the substitution versus complements perspectives). Strategic contracting results in complementarity (rather than substitutability) between formal contracts and relational governance.Research limitations/implications This paper argues that a more nuanced view on contract types, such as strategic versus conventional, may reconcile the enduring research controversy between the substitution and complements perspectives.Practical implications Today, formal contracts with foreign distributors tend to resemble “prenuptial agreements”. The opportunity for relational rent (e.g. manifested in higher export revenues) grows if conventional contracts are superseded by contracts following strategic contracting principles.Originality/value This study is interdisciplinary, not only by its combination of marketing, management and contractual economics but also through its law and economics amalgamation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to look at the recent case of WW Gear Construction Ltd v. McGee Group Ltd (henceforth "WW Gear") and the complex legal concept of a condition precedent in construction contracts. Design/methodology/approach - The paper looks at the origin of a condition precedent and explores recent cases in which a condition precedent was involved as an issue. The wording of the relevant contract documents used in WW Gear is examined and the attitude adopted by the judiciary when dealing with an alleged condition precedent is explored in depth. Findings - From the judgment handed down by the court it is clear that provided such a clause in a contract is correctly framed and the words used indicate a clear intention of the parties which is reasonable, then the English Courts will find that a condition precedent is enforceable. Research limitations/implications - When dealing with a condition precedent, the judges will interpret any condition precedent strictly but not so strictly that a minor drafting error makes the condition precedent unenforceable. The exact boundaries of strictness cannot be settled by WW Gear but will have to await further development of case law through future litigation. The implications of WW Gear for building surveyors and the wider construction industry are that considerable care must be taken in the administration of construction contracts where conditions precedent are present. The adjudicator was clearly incorrect in his finding that the relevant sub-clauses were meaningless and could be safely ignored by the parties. Originality/value - Whilst the legal concept of a condition precedent has featured in several modern construction law cases there is a paucity of literature dealing with the implications for building surveyors and construction professionals. This paper explores the importance of this often ignored legal concept not as abstract jurisprudence but in a succinct and practical way allowing practitioners to understand more fully the implications of a condition precedent on projects in which they are involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a €20 million contract Kvaerner Power is to deliver a power boiler using bubbling fluidized bed technology to a power plant at UPM''s Rauma paper mill on the west coast of Finland. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of unfair commercial practices in advertising and marketing law. Design/methodology/approach -- The differences addressed in the paper relate to the role or tasks of consumer law in regulating the marketplace. Findings -- A comparison of the UK, German and Nordic approaches reveal interesting differences at least in nuances in the approach to omission of information as an unfair commercial practice. Originality/value -- The paper provides useful analysis of the deeper understandings behind unfair commercial practices law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The leasing contract is one of the most important contracts according to autonomous commercial law. Leasing contract is a contract entered into between a lessor and a lessee that grants the lessee the right to possess and use the leased asset for a period of time as specified in agreement, in return of payment by the lessee as per specified instalments. Issues related to leasing in the Republic of Kosovo are regulated by the 2009 Law on Leasing. The leasing contract appears in different types, but the most important type in Kosovo is the financial leasing. The leasing contract is a new and very important type of contract for the economy of Kosovo. The prospect of its implementation in practice will be of a broad scope, taking into account the main factors that influenced its introduction and implementation in the contemporary economy. Financing investments by this method is a necessity of the era. In this paper, we have considered the most important issues related to the leasing contract, analytically examining the notion of this type of contract, its characteristics, essential elements, legal nature, rights and obligations of the contracting parties - lessors and lessees. We have focused on the specific consideration of this very important contract for the economy of Kosovo. The review was conducted based on the applicable legislation in Kosovo, as well as often focused on the problems that exist in practice in Kosovo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a formal system for reasoning about violations of obligations in contracts. The system is based on the formalism for the representation of contrary-to-duty obligations. These are the obligations that take place when other obligations are violated as typically applied to penalties in contracts. The paper shows how this formalism can be mapped onto the key policy concepts of a contract specification language, called Business Contract Language (BCL), previously developed to express contract conditions for run time contract monitoring. The aim of this mapping is to establish a formal underpinning for this key subset of BCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing the manager of a firm with suitable incentives to act in the investors' interest may be socially efficient, but not individually rational for the investors themselves. This paper specifies a second-best arrangement and shows how investors can be induced to implement it by means of an optimal bankruptcy code in the case where only standard financial contracts are available. It explains why bankruptcy law should, in some states of nature, let shareholders and senior creditors decide jointly, and provides a rationale for the existence of junior debt, which never enjoys any power of decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies some empirical implications of models with limited risk sharing due to the imperfect enforceability of contracts. We test whether the amount by which public transfers reduce private transfers is affected by features of the economy, such as the variance of income and its persistence. These implications are unique to models with imperfect enforceability. We use data from Mexico collected to evaluate a public transfer programme. It included a randomised component that we exploit as a source of exogenous variation. Our results support the theoretical model in that the crowding out of private transfers is larger in villages where the variance of income is smaller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coming together of the world, through globalization, international trade and cross border sales has led to an inevitable interaction between different cultures and different laws. Transnational commercial law has seen numerous instruments created to impose a 'neutral' set of norms on two contracting parties. The process of formation of such instruments is most certainly an exercise in comparative law influenced by the notions of pluralism, whereby different legal norms are compared. As such, this comparison, like most comparisons in comparative law, endeavours to find common values in varying concepts. Yet, it ignores the fundamental flaws inherent in such a comparison. The resulting 'covering value' is seemingly neutral, and yet travels beyond its intended scope. This paper will present an example of the classic 'force majeure' defence to contractual breaches, in transnational commercial law, and how its neutral term 'impediment' is evidence of the practical non feasibility of 'covering values'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the extent to which the incompleteness of contracts can be attributed to their formal nature the form, usually written, that contracts are required to take to be enforceable in a court of law by legal prescription, common practice, or simply the contracting parties' will We model the formal nature of state-contingent contracts as the requirement that the mapping from states of the world to the corresponding outcomes must be of an algorithmic nature. It is shown that such algorithmic nature, although by itself is not enough to generate incomplete contracts, when paired with a similar restriction on the contracting parties' selection process yields endogenously incomplete optimal contracts

Abstract. This paper applies a mechanism design approach to the problem of an optimal contract when one party has both ex ante and ex post private information. With ex ante private information added to the costly state verification environment, the timing of the contract is important in achieving the first-best investment decision. It is shown that an optimal contract involves precommitment, a feature often observed in many bank loan contracts. An optimal contract thus obtained is interpreted as the golden parachute, a device providing incentives to managers not to distort the running of a firm to fight takeover bids. In the process of characterizing an optimal contract, the revelation principle is re-examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the end of 2017, Montenegro undertook actions for drafting new civil codification. One of the dilemmas presented before the creators of the civil code is whether and to what extent autonomous agreements of business law are to be regulated. For the last two decades in Montenegro, there has been an increasing use of number of agreements in the economy which are regarded as autonomous creation of business practice. Due to its significance, the factoring contract is particularly important. Factoring contract does not have a long history of existence, nor legal regulation in the Montenegrin law. By 2017, factoring contract was an innominate contract of commercial law, which was subject to the general rules of the Law on Obligations and imperative norms of other legal areas. However, absence of legal regulation and presence of this contract in business practice have created the need to strengthen the legal certainty of all participants in this legal transaction, so it has been regulated by the provisions of a special law. The aim of this paper is to analyze factoring contract - the concept, essential elements and the content, and to provide answers to identified issues at stake, especially in the light of the work on the drafting the future Civil Code in Montenegro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to show that, among the main conceptions of contract in civilian legal traditions, some of them remain ideologically grounded on a proprietary concept that cannot be reduced to the right of property, legally speaking. This proposal starts with the observation that in contract law, there are some rules, some interpretations, some theoretical discourses and intellectual constructions that imply 'property structures'. What I mean by a property structure is a theoretical structure that has to do with the idea of property but which is not considered as a right of ownership and, furthermore, which is not to be legally treated as such. Property structures have other functions apart from those usually associated with the issues raised by the right of property, although they are vehicles of proprietary ideas in contract law. Property structures have underlying functions. They inform contract law with a system of values. They draw invisible guidelines for contract law interpretation. In this paper, two occurrences of property structures are identified: property structures underlying the concept of contract as a transfer of rights and damages for breach of contract. Ce texte tente de montrer que certaines des conceptions dominantes du contrat dans les traditions juridiques civilistes reposent sur un concept propriétaire qu'on ne saurait réduire au droit de propriété entendu strictement. Une telle proposition se fonde sur l'observation de ce qu'il existe en droit des contrats des règles, des interprétations, des discours théoriques et des constructions intellectuelles qui supposent une structure propriétaire. Par 'structure propriétaire', j'entends une structure théorique qui a à voir avec la propriété mais qui ne saurait être assimilée au droit propriété et, surtout, qui n'a pas à être juridiquement traitée comme tel. Les structures propriétaires me semblent avoir d'autres fonctions que celles associées au droit de propriété, quoiqu'elles soient bien des véhicules de l'idée propriétaire en droit des contrats. Leurs fonctions sont, en quelque sorte, architecturales. Elles informent le droit des contrats d'un système de valeur et elles constituent des lignes directrices de l'interprétation. Dans ce texte, deux occurrences de ces structures propriétaires sont identifiées: celles qui soutiennent le concept de contrat conçu comme un transfert de droit ainsi que les dommages et intérêts dus en cas d'inexécution. Der Beitrag versucht zu zeigen, dass unter den verschiedenen Vertragskonzepten, die man in den verschiedenen Zivilrechtstraditionen antrifft, einige ideengeschichtlich in einem Eigentumskonzept gegründet erscheinen, wenn auch in keinem im engen sachenrechtlichen Sinne. Ausgangspunkt dieser These ist, dass gewisse Regeln im Vertragsrecht ebenso wie gewisse Auslegungsergebnisse oder vertragsrechtstheoretische Aussagen eine Struktur haben, die sich an Eigentumscharakteristika orientiert. Damit ist gemeint eine Denkform, die eigentumsartig ist, jedoch ein Recht betrifft, das nicht als sachenrechtliches Eigentum zu verstehen ist und rechtlich auch nicht also solches behandelt wird. Solche eigentumsartigen Strukturen haben auch nicht die gleichen Funktionen, wie sie ihnen im Sachenrecht zugeschrieben werde, bilden jedoch das Vehikel, um im Vertrag eigentumsähnliche Rechtsfolgen nach sich zu ziehen. 'Eigentumsstrukturen' haben besondere Funktionen und vermitteln dem Vertragsrecht auch besondere Werte. Sie bilden auch (unsichtbare) Interpretationsleitlinien im Vertragsrecht. In diesem Beitrag werden zwei Arten von Eigentumsstrukturen diskutiert: diejenige, die dem Konzept der Abtretung zugrunde liegt, und diejenige, die man im Schadensrecht konstatieren kann. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many accounts of contract law are promise based, however, these accounts fail to treat The Promise as a tangible social institution. Also, legal realist and law and economic accounts of contract law fail to acknowledge that The Promise exists at all. Using scholarship from political economy, this Article shows that The Promise and contract law are distinct entities. This differs from promissory accounts which treat contracts as a subspecies of promises. This gap in the scholarship matters because the existence of The Promise raises important normative considerations that existing accounts cannot accommodate by failing to address the existence of The Promise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We in this paper provide an analytical structure to endogenize the optimal gestational surrogacy contract in terms of a simple moral hazard framework. We show that altruistic surrogacy is optimal only if the surrogate has lower outside option and is sufficiently altruistic. Otherwise commercial surrogacy is optimal. We also show that for lower outside option greater social ignominy makes the surrogacy contract relatively more altruistic but the reverse happens when the surrogate has higher outside option. We also point to alternative model specifications and find situations where commercial surrogacy is always optimal irrespective of altruism, outside option and social ignominy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to study an advanced third/fourth party logistics (3/4PL) relationship in which the logistics service provider extended normal services by taking ownership of the goods during global distribution. It also aims to describe and analyze the approach to the legal rules a 3/4PL provider and its client company took in their contract, and present some remarks on the extent to which these contract solutions are legally sound. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-functional (business law and logistics) approach is applied to a single case study. The main data source is a written contract, complemented by in-depth interviews with the 3/4PL's managing director. A legal analysis is made from four perspectives of non-mandatory and mandatory commercial legal rules. Findings – Issues between the offered service, the legal function and reaction in contracts are pointed out, e.g. doubts regarding the legal risk of sales uncertainty, the ownership of goods, the product liability, and the roles as commercial agent and as freight forwarding agent. These kinds of advanced logistics services are not clearly handled, e.g. in the standard-form contracts for freight forwarding. Research limitations/implications – The research is limited to one case and to some aspects of Swedish commercial law, but put in an international perspective. It adds a legal perspective to previous studies on 3/4PL contracts, and it contributes to legal research by its analysis of how firms in real life react to law in their contracts. Practical implications – Practitioners can get inspiration from an innovative logistics service setup, but also realize what legal challenges to consider when they make their contracts. A tentative approach to aligning logistics' and lawyers' work is suggested. Originality/value – The paper combines legal and logistics research, and description/analysis of a 3/4PL case where ownership of the goods is transferred to the service provider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission has published a Green Paper on the "policy options for progress towards a European Contract Law for consumers and businesses". The title gives the game away. The issue is less whether there should be a European contract law, and more how the Commission can get there and what it should look like. After many years of financing the creation of a European contract code, but at the same time being evasive as to the purpose that code would serve, the European Commission has, therefore, finally come clean as to its aspirations. Does this mean, in the words (almost) of Lord Grey, that national laws are going out all over Europe and that we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime? Or does it just mean that there will be one extra system of law that might be chosen to govern a contract? How should business react to the prospect of any form of European contract law? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socio-legal scholarship in contract maintains that the classical law is ineffective in regulating commercial agreements, and that the law should be more attentive to the role played by relational norms of cooperation and implicit understandings in business dealings. This paper explores the extent to which the parties' own narratives about their business relationship, as presented to a judge through testimony, can be both a source of information to judges about how business is conducted and a corrective to the classical contract law mindset, which favours the operation of individualist over cooperative norms in the resolution of commercial disputes. The paper examines a body of ‘law and narrative’ scholarship which underlines narrative's power to subvert traditional legal norms. It also considers some of the difficulties with relying on party narratives as evidence of the implicit dimensions of commercial agreements, but concludes that such narratives may have a role to play in the development of a more relationally constituted contract law and are thus worthy of closer scrutiny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing support in the contract literature for the view that the remoteness rule is essentially concerned with identifying an implicit allocation of risk made by the contracting parties. This paper argues that the remoteness doctrine is more accurately seen as a method by which the courts allocate risks which the contracting parties have failed to allocate, rather than an interpretative rule. Through analysis of the principles and their application in the recent case-law in England, Canada and Australia, the paper shows that the identification of an implicit allocation of risk does not and cannot determine remoteness cases in contract. The justice of the remoteness rule is not based on the notion that the defendant undertook responsibility for the risk in question, but on a concern that the defendant should have a reasonable opportunity to consider the risks that might arise from breach and take action to avoid them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]