Business and Corporate Law Tutorial Questions - HI6027

This assignment presents solutions to tutorial questions from the HI6027 Business and Corporate Law unit, covering weeks 1-5. The content delves into the Australian legal system, exploring exclusive, concurrent, and residual powers. It analyzes contract law, including the formation of valid contract...Read More

BUSINESS LAW

TABLE OF CONTENTS
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
WEEK 1...........................................................................................................................................3
Exclusive, concurrent and residual power...................................................................................3
WEEK 2...........................................................................................................................................3
(a).................................................................................................................................................3
(b).................................................................................................................................................4
WEEK 3...........................................................................................................................................4
Contracts with infants or minors..................................................................................................4
WEEK 4...........................................................................................................................................5
Contra Proferentem Rule.............................................................................................................5
WEEK 5...........................................................................................................................................6
Breach of Contract.......................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

MAIN BODY
WEEK 1
Exclusive, concurrent and residual power
The constitution of Australia has given the power related to the division of power to the
Commonwealth parliament. These can be categorised as:
 The exclusive power here is related to the power that is given solely to the Commonwealth
where they can make and implement laws but the states cannot (Steytler, 2017). The major
areas of concern are included in this power where the decision making lies in the hand of a
select few individuals. For example, the decision regarding the immigration rules or
regarding defence polices etc. are taken by the Commonwealth of Australia who has these
powers inherent in their organisation.
 Concurrent Powers: Concurrent Powers are the powers that the state shares with the
Commonwealth where they can collectively take decisions. This kind of power is given
because the legislation requires collaboration between the state and the Commonwealth thus
formulating some areas of common governance (Dziedzic and Saunders, 2017). For
example, the law related to the bankruptcy, or divorce and marriage etc. are governed by
both of them and if a decision taken by state is in contradiction to the one taken by
Commonwealth, then the decision of Commonwealth will prevail.
 Residual Powers: These kinds of powers are not evident in the constitution of Australia but
were given to certain colonies and federations who wanted to retain some of the decision
making powers in their hands (Balboni, 2019). The powers regulate the education field and
the criminal or health related field. For example, in Victoria, VCE is situated exactly
opposite to HSC.
WEEK 2
(a)
It can be evidently said that a valid contract exists in such scenario where the vending
machines and the sign that has been displayed in the machine shows that the machine is owned
by XYZ Vendsolutions Pty Ltd. Vending machine is an invitation or offer of contract and
whenever the person inserts a coin, they show their acceptance for that particular offer that is
being made (Eldridge, 2019). The exchange of something of value takes place where the vending
machine offers the item that the purchaser wishes to buy and the purchaser in turn has to first
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offer the money against which they can received the product that is to be brought. Therefore all
the conditions for a valid contract has to be fulfilled i.e. there should be an offer to buy and this
in turn must be accepted by the purchaser. There should also be the existence of a valid
consideration for which it was exchanged. The person here is offering value in the form of
money which in turn has to be offered to the vending machine and the vending machine will give
the item thus completing the contract effectively (Awdry and Newton, 2019).
In the current situation as well the contract can be termed as valid contract that I have entre
dint where I decided to accept the offer to buy a packet of chips and against I have paid money I
advance by putting it in the vending machine. Therefore this was a valid contract that was
entered into by me. Now when the company who has installed the vending machine has given a
defective piece of good then it indicates that they have not kept up their side of the contract thus
showing that I am liable to demand either a refund on my $ 3.50 or obtain a new packet of chips
(Eldridge, 2019). Therefore, I can sue the company who has put up the vending machine with a
valid claim. Further the Horne Coupar v/s Vellttal and Company has made it compulsory to
evaluate whether any ambiguity ha arise in the contracts thus analysing the contract
(b)
Since vending machine is not a living body and is just fulfilling the purpose of its operation,
it is not the party with which I entered into contact with. However the sign put up on the vending
machine indicted that property i.e. vending machine has been set up by XYZ Vendsolutions Pty
Ltd. Therefore, they are the entity that is in possession of the vending machine and therefore they
represent the contracts that have been entered into automatically (Walsh and Walsh, 2019).
Therefore when an individual buys anything from the machines then it automatically indicates
that the person has entered into a contract with the company itself. Now it is XYZ Vendsolutions
Pty Ltd that is liable to either compensate me with the amount due or provide a new packet of
chips.
WEEK 3
Contracts with infants or minors
An infant can be termed as the minor i.e. whose age is below 18 years as per the law and
there are certain valid contracts into which the minor can adequately enter.
 Valid contracts: There are certain contracts that can be termed as valid even if they are
enforceable by the minors (Harun and et.al., 2018). Contracts elated to necessity goods if the
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minor lacks a guardian, contracts related to sports and entertainment are termed as valid
contracts that can be legally enforceable.
 Voidable contracts: Most of the contracts that are entered into with minor are voidable
where they can be termed as valid only if the minor agrees to adopt these contracts (Banta,
2018). The minor is not included in the capacity to contract as they cannot be termed as
capable enough of having an understanding required to address the contract. Therefore the
contract stands to be voidable if they are not accepted by the minors with proper consent.
 Void Contracts: These are those contracts that are rejected by the minors on the basis of
their lack of ability to enter into contracts (Tshabuse and Dlamini, 2019). The minors must
explicitly deny complying with the contracts in order for them to be termed as void. This can
be done only when the minor is under the age of maturity limit.
WEEK 4
Contra Proferentem Rule
The contra proferentem rule is basically a legal doctrine developed under the contract law
that specifies clarification on any clause or section that is ambiguous and cannot be easily
understood by the parties. In such cases, that particular party which formulated the clause in the
first place clarifies the clause exactly i.e. its meaning, its interpretation and also the necessary
guidance. It is mainly the legal interpretation of the clauses and is usually prepared whenever a
clause of contract is challenged in the court (Chan and Fan, 2018). These are extremely complex
documents and are prepared after long periods of negotiations as every party tries to place it in
maximum favour for themselves. When the clause is ascertained to be ambiguous then the court
attempts to ascertain the intention of the party who drafted it. If it is concluded that the intent of
the drafter was not to increase ambiguity, then this contract is applied on the basis of evidence
obtained. However, if its proved that the intention of the party was to increase the ambiguity
intentionally, then the contra proferentem rule is applied where the court rules against party in
fault i.e. the party who intentionally included ambiguity (McCunn, 2019).
Yes the application of contra proferentem rule is defensible i.e. justifiable because it ensures
that the other party does not take undue advantages of the other party by purposefully developing
ambiguous clauses.
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WEEK 5
Breach of Contract
In the current case, it can be ascertained that Amina hired Bryan as her delivery man for
the work that was designated to commence on the 1st of November but one prior to it, in the 1st of
October she informed him that she no longer requires his services despite the agreement that they
had developed earlier.
The breach of a contract is said to have been occurred when one party initially agreed
enter into a contract with the second party but later before the completion of the contract or on
the date of completion of contract refuses to uphold their side of contract or agreements
(Goldberger, 2018). If such a situation occurs then it is termed as breach of contract.
There are many types of breach that can occur in a contract and anticipatory breach is one
such type. However out of the two parties that are entering into contract, one of the parties
expresses the cancellation of the contract from their side where they give prior information that
they would not be able to complete their part of the contract and this is done prior to the actual
contract date (Kennedy, 2018). If such cancellation or breach of contract occurs than it can be
termed as anticipatory breach of contract. In the case of anticipatory breach, the innocent party
has the right to sue for damages immediately or wait until the actual day of performance and then
terminate the contract if the other party does not keep it up.
In the existing case, an anticipatory breach can be said to have occurred where Amina
initially promised to hire Bryan but before that she refused to uphold the contract and therefore it
can be termed as the anticipatory breach of contract (Sakai, 2017). Here Bryan has the right to
either immediately sue Amina for damages that he has incurred or terminate the contract on 1st
November when it was designated to be completed.
Alternatively, the concept of frustration contract law can also be referred where
frustration is a form of law doctrine that is used when the contracts have to be set aside due to
any unforeseen event which leads to impossible contractual obligations that change the overall
purpose of the party. The Taylor v/s Caldwell (1863) case can be referred in the current scenario
where the concept of frustration doctrine was justified. In the current case as well; it can be said
that some unforeseen conductions arose for Amina that rendered the contract as non- executable.
Here the cognract between Brian and Amina can come to an end if it cannot be applied in the
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new modified situation as it was ruled out in the case of Contractors v/s Fareham UDC. Hence,
Amina cannot be held liable for breaking off the contract with Brian.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Awdry, R. and Newton, P.M., 2019. Staff views on commercial contract cheating in higher
education: a survey study in Australia and the UK. Higher Education. 78(4). pp.593-610.
Balboni, M., 2019. The global reach of the principle of subsidiarity: the case of
Australia. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics. 57(2). pp.193-207.
Banta, N.M., 2018. Minors and Digital Asset Succession. Iowa L. Rev.. 104. p.1699.
Chan, K.C. and Fan, C., 2018. The Principle of Contra Proferentem and the Interpretation of
Arbitration Agreements. Available at SSRN 3357912.
Dziedzic, A. and Saunders, C., 2017. The Meanings of Concurrency. In Concurrent Powers in
Federal Systems (pp. 12-31). Brill Nijhoff.
Eldridge, J.A., 2019. Codifying Contract Law in Australia: Issues and Obstacles (Doctoral
dissertation).
Goldberger, J., 2018. Assessment of damages for breach of contract. Commercial Law
Quarterly: The Journal of the Commercial Law Association of Australia. 32(3). p.12.
Harun, N., and et.al., 2018. Minor’s Capacity to Contract in Malaysia: Issues and
Challenges. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN BUSINESS
AND SOCIAL SCIENCES. 8(12).
Kennedy, A., 2018. BEGINNING IS EASY, CONTINUING IS HARD: WHEN CHANGED
TERMS IN AN INSURANCE POLICY RENEWAL CONSTITUTE BREACH OF
CONTRACT. Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal. 53(3). pp.849-882.
McCunn, J., 2019. The Contra Proferentem Rule: Contract Law’s Great Survivor. Oxford
Journal of Legal Studies. 39(3). pp.483-506.
Sakai, K., 2017. Optimal Default Rule for Breach of Contract. In Applied Approaches to Societal
Institutions and Economics (pp. 101-112). Springer, Singapore.
Steytler, N. ed., 2017. Concurrent powers in federal systems: meaning, making, managing.
BRILL.
Tshabuse, K. and Dlamini, Z., 2019. The employment of minors as sports-workers: sports
law. Without Prejudice. 19(11). pp.29-31.
Walsh, P. and Walsh, T., 2019. Folau v Rugby Australia: Protecting a business' brand in the age
of social media. Bulletin (Law Society of South Australia). 41(6). p.12.
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