契约简论和侵权行为------外文资料翻译.docVIP

1.Briefly on contracts The law of contracts is concerned with the enforcement of promissory obligations. Contractual liability is usually based on consent freely given in the form of an express promise or one implied in fact from the acts of the parties. In some circumstances, however, the courts will imply a promise (often called implied in law or quasi contract) in order to avoid unjust enrichment in spite of lack of consent by the party who is bound by it. The subject matter of contract law comprises capacity, formalities, offer and acceptance, consideration, fraud and mistake, legality, interpretation and construction, performance and conditions of performance, frustration and impossibility, discharge, rights of assignees and third party beneficiaries, and remedies. It has, to a very considerable extent, preserved its unitary quality , resisting fundamental distinctions between different classes of contracts according to either the subject of the agreement or the nature of the parties. Accordingly, with some exceptions, its principles are applicable to agreements on such varied subjects as employment, sale of goods or land, and insurance, and to such diverse parties as individuals, business organizations, and governmental entities. It is largely state rather than federal law, but it differs usually only in detail from one state to anther. While it is still primarily case law, an increasing number of statutes deal with particular problems. The Uniform Commercial Code, for example, contains some special provisions on the formation of contracts for the sale of goods. And by the Tucker Act of 1887, as amended, one of the most significant of the federal statutes in the field, the United States government has waived its sovereign immunity in contract actions by consenting to suit in the federal courts. Some rules laid down by statute, and by case law as well, are mandatory or compulsory and cannot be avoided by the parties, while others are implicative, interpretativ