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EnglandLegal Studies

3.4 The nature of law and human rights, or contract

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How does a contract come to an end, and what happens if it cannot be performed?

Discharge of contract: discharge by performance, by agreement, by breach (actual and anticipatory), and by frustration, with the relevant rules and authorities.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Law discharge of contract topic, covering discharge by performance, by agreement, by breach (actual and anticipatory), and by frustration, with the leading authorities for each.
11 min answer →

What must happen for a legally binding contract to come into existence?

Formation of contract: offer and acceptance, the rules on invitations to treat and the postal rule, consideration, and the intention to create legal relations.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Law formation of contract topic, covering offer and acceptance, invitations to treat, the postal rule, consideration, and the intention to create legal relations, with the leading authorities.
11 min answer →

What can a party recover when the other side breaks a contract?

Remedies in contract: the aims and assessment of damages, causation and remoteness, the duty to mitigate, and the equitable remedies of specific performance and injunction.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Law remedies in contract topic, covering the aims and assessment of damages, causation and remoteness, the duty to mitigate, and the equitable remedies of specific performance and injunction.
10 min answer →

What is a contract for, and what theories underpin the law of contract?

Rules and theory of contract: the nature and purpose of contract law, freedom of contract, the relationship between contract and fairness, and the role of consumer protection.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Law rules and theory of contract topic, covering the nature and purpose of contract law, the principle of freedom of contract, the tension between contract and fairness, and the growth of consumer protection.
9 min answer →

What are the terms of a contract, and how does the law treat the most important ones?

Terms of a contract: express and implied terms, the classification of terms as conditions, warranties and innominate terms, exclusion clauses, and statutory implied terms under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Law terms of contract topic, covering express and implied terms, the classification of conditions, warranties and innominate terms, the control of exclusion clauses, and the implied terms in the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
11 min answer →

What factors can make an apparently valid contract void or voidable?

Vitiating factors: misrepresentation (innocent, negligent and fraudulent), and economic duress, and their effect on the validity of a contract.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Law vitiating factors topic, covering the three types of misrepresentation (innocent, negligent and fraudulent) and economic duress, the requirements of each, and their effect on the validity of a contract.
11 min answer →