030361 KU Comparative Contract Law (2022W)

This course offers a brief analysis of crucial institutions of contract law from a comparative perspective – common law v. civil law systems.

After introducing the main principles of contract law (freedom of contract, binding force, informality and fairness), the course will turn to a comparative analysis of the civil and common law systems in context of contract law.

It will then proceed to the basic requirements for contract formation: (1) offer and acceptance, (2) intention to create legal relations, (3) legal capacity of the parties and (4) contract formalities. We will spend some time analysing real and hypothetical cases focusing on crucial characteristics of offer and acceptance. Special attention will be dedicated to the French notion of causa, which will be compared with the common law concept of consideration.

We will then turn our attention to contract interpretation and gap filling. This topic will be analysed together with the principle of good faith – a concept perceived differently in civil and common law jurisdictions.

The course will then move to the defects of consent (mistake, fraud, threat or undue influence) and misrepresentation. Along the way, the course will analyse the concept of prohibited contracts, focusing on certain timely issues discussed in recent cases (such as for example, cases on surrogate motherhood).

We will then examine the remedies available to one party when the other fails to comply with its contractual obligation. The class will focus on specific performance and damages.

Finally, we will examine supervening events occurring without the fault of the debtor. The focus will be on force majeure in French law, impossibility in German law and the doctrine of frustration under the English law.