Essay Outline – Promissory Estoppel; Intention to Contract – Law Assignment Help

Assignment Task:

Task:

Aims and Objectives

At the end of this lecture students should have an understanding of the doctrine of promissory estoppel and its relationship to contract. In addition students should have an understanding of the requirement of an intention to contract as a necessary requirement to contract formation and a general understanding of writing requirements.

Equitable Estoppel The doctrine of consideration can fail to protect detrimental reliance. As we have seen, if there is no consideration, there is no contract, and thus a person who suffered from a reliance on a promise will not be able to receive remedies under contract law. Here the doctrine of estoppel intervenes to provide a remedy.

The principle of estoppel is in place to protect a person against a loss suffered as a result from a reliance on a promise or representation that is not binding in contract. Formation of a Contract – Intention to Create Legal Relations An integral element of a contract at law is that the parties to it must intend their agreement to have legal force in the sense that each party can take legal action to enforce it. Unless there is an express statement in the agreement on this matter, there is a presumption that agreements of a family, social or domestic character are not intended to have legal effect. In all other agreements (e.g. commercial agreements) the presumption is that the parties did intend it to have legal intent. In both situations the presumptions can be rebutted by evidence to the contrary. The Requirement of Writing – Do Contracts Have to be in Written Form? At common law there is no requirement that any contract has to be in written form. However, statute imposes such a requirement in certain types of contract, with a significant example being contracts involving land or interests in land. However, oral contracts for the sale of land can, in some circumstances, be enforced.