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This article articulates a theory of relational contract, as an alternative to traditional freedom of contract philosophy. The law has moved away from freedom of contract to some extent, and it can be criticised on the basis of its unrealistic assumptions and detachment from the typical reality of parties' contracting. Relational contract theory is a possible suitable alternative theoretical framework. It may be useful in relation to contract interpretation. Specifically, it can be utilised to support a broader approach to contract interpretation, with the court focussing on the entirety of the parties' relations, including the written terms and also subsequent performance. It enjoys some support in the United Kingdom and in other common law jurisdictions. It can support the view taken by two justices of the High Court of Australia in a recent contract interpretation decision involving employment contracts. The article favours the approach taken by these justices, rather than that of the majority, whose judgment reflects classic contract law sentiments at odds with the general direction of contract law in comparative jurisdictions. [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]

Good faith is arguably the most controversial concept in Australian contract law despite no high court decision deciding its application. The case of Renard Constructions (ME) Pty Ltd v Minister for Public Works (1992) 26 NSWLR 234 introduced the concept of good faith for the first time by way of obiter comment by Priestley J. In this case, it was argued that good faith is implied by 'Implication'. The objective of this paper is to analyse the issue of incorporating the concept of good faith in Australian contract law either by way of 'Implication' or 'Construction'. There are two types of implication of a term; 'implied by fact' and 'Implied by law'. This is a library-based research paper and uses a qualitative approach to compare both approaches in implying the concept of good faith. The paper concludes that good faith is easier to identify from the term 'implied by law' which is based on the legal incident of a particular class of contract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]