Examining the theory of promise as a justification for the contractual enforcement

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 استاد حقوق خصوصی، دانشگاه علوم قضایی و خدمات اداری، تهران، ایران،

2 Associate Professor of Islamic Jurisprudence, University of Judicial Sciences and Administrative Services, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The theory of promise considers the conscious & intentional invocation of the convention of promises to justify the exercise of legal power to guarantee the contract. Such an understanding of the basis of the contract would provide a general rule for enforcing those legal acts that come as a promise. Nevertheless, this theory has been criticized in several major ways. Some critics have used their conception of the limits of contractual freedom as a pretext for criticizing the theory of promise. Some have attributed its weakness to the inconsistency of this theory with the larger theories of entitlement and the inability to explain some of the doctrines of the contract. Considering the sum of its arguments and critiques, it can be seen that although the theory of promise correctly explains a part of reality, it needs to be corrected in order to overemphasize the subjective aspect of the contract.

Keywords

References

Atiyah, Patrick S. (1988) Essays on Contract, revised edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Atiyah, Patrick S. (2003) The Rise and Fall of Freedom of Contract, US: Oxford University Press.
Atiyah, Patrick S. (1981) Promises, Morals, and Law, US: Clarendon Press.
Barnett, E. Randy (1986) “A Consent Theory of Contract”, Columbia Law Review, Vol. 86, No. 2, pp. 269-321.
Barnett, E. Randy (May-1992) “The Sound of Silence: Default Rules and Contractual Consent”, Virginia Law Review, Vol. 78, No. 4. pp. 821-911.
Beatson, Jack & Burrows, Andrew & Cartwright, John. (2010) Anson's Law of Contract, 29th Edition. US: Oxford University Press.
 Benson, Peter (2001) Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Law, First edition UK: Cambridge University Press.
Blond, Neil (2009) Torts Blond's Law Guides, first edition, US: Aspen Publishers Online.
Cohen, Morris (1933) “The Basis of Contract”, Harvard Law Review, Vol. 46, No. 4. pp. 553-592.
Dworkin, Ronald (1977) Taking Rights Seriously. US: Harvard University Press.
Feinman, M. Jay (1984) “Promissory Estoppel and Judicial Method”, Harvard Law Review, Vol. 97, No. 3. pp. 678-718.
Fried, Charles )2015( Contract as Promise: A Theory of Contractual Obligation, Second edition, US: Oxford University Press.
Fuller, Lon L., & Perdue, William R. (1936) “The Reliance Interest in Contract Damages: 1”, The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 52-96.
Furubotn, Eirik G. & Pejovich, Svetozar (1972) “Property Rights and Economic Theory A Survey of Recent Literature”, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 1137-1162.
Gilmore, Grant (1974) The Death Of Contract, First edition, US: Ohio State Univ. Press.
Gordley, james (1991) The Philosophical Origins of Modern Contract Doctrine, New York: Clarendon Press.
Hacker, Peter Michael Stephen, and Raz, Joseph (eds.) (1977) Law, Morality, and Society__ Essays in Honour of H. L.A. Hart, UK: Claredon press, Oxford.
HART, Herbert Lionel Adolphus (2012) The Concept Of Law, Third edition, UK: Oxford University Press.
Hayek, Friedrich August (2013) Law, Legislation and Liberty, US: Routledge.
Hevia, Martín (2013) Reasonableness and Responsibility: A Theory of Contract Law, US: Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg.
Hume, David (2006) An Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, NewYork-US: Casimo Classics.
Kimel, Dori (2003) From Promise to Contract Towards a Liberal Theory of Contract, first edition, US: Hart Publishing.
Kimel, Dori )2001( “Neutrality, Autonomy, and Freedom of Contract”, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Vol. 21, No.3, pp. 473-494.
Klass, Gregory & Letsas, George & Saprai Prince (eds.) (2014) Philosophical Foundation of Contract Law, First edition. UK: Oxford University Press.
Lewis, David (2002) Convention: A Philosophical Study, Third Edition, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Linzer, Peter (1988) “Uncontracts: Context, Contorts and the Relational Approach”, Annual Survey of American Law, Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp.139-163.
Locke, Don (1972) “The Object of Morality, and the Obligation to Keep a Promise”, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 2, No. 1. pp. 135-143.
Markovits, Daniel (2004) “Contract and Collaboration”, Yale Law Journal, Vol. 113, No. 7, pp. 1417-1518.
Michigan Law Review, (1974) “H. L. A. Hart on Legal and Moral Obligation”, Michigan Law Review, Vol 73, Issue 2, pp. 443-458.
Murphy, James Bernard (2002) “Equality in exchange”, American Journal of Jurisprudence, Vol. 85, No. 47, pp. 85-121.
Nozick, Robert (2001) Anarchy State and Utopia, US: Wiley-Blackwell.
Peel, Edwin (2015) Treitel The Law of Contract, Fourteenth Edition. US: Sweet & Maxwell Ltd.
Penner, James E. (1996) “Voluntary Obligations and the Scope of the Law of Contract”, Legal Theory, Vol 2, Issue 04, pp. 325 – 357.
Ripstein, Arthur (1999) Equality, Responsibility, and the Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shiffrin, Seana Valentine (2008) “Promising, Intimate Relationships, and Conventionalism” The Philosophical Review, Vol. 117, No. 4, pp. 481-524.
Speidel, Richard E. (1982) “The New Spirit of Contract”, Journal of Law and Commerce, Vol. 2, p. 193-215.
Stoljar, Samuel (1988) “Promise, Expectation, and Agreement”, The Cambridge Law Journal, Vol 47, No. 2, pp. 193-212.
Stone, Richard (2008) The Modern Law of Contract, eighth Edition, UK: Routledge-Cavendish.
Waddams, Stephen (2003) Dimensions of Private Law Categories and Concepts in Anglo-American Legal Reasoning, US-UK: Cambridge University Press.
Documents
Restatement (Second) of The Law Contracts. (May17,1979) Official Text and Comments as Adopted and Promulgated BY the American Law Institute at Washington, D.C. available at:< https://bok.asia/md5/79F5BD502A2D37FC7F6D03E4BD2873DC?regionChanged=&redirect=41532635>. Last seen: 2020-10-03.
 
 
 

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics