University of Suffolk BA Business Law and Ethics Essay

This essay delves into the core principles of business law, focusing on the law of contract and its significance in establishing legally binding agreements. It examines the essential elements of a contract, including offer, acceptance, intention, and consideration, and explores the legal implications of each element. The essay also provides an overview of the English legal system, differentiating between criminal and civil cases and outlining the court hierarchy. Furthermore, it analyzes three case scenarios to illustrate the application of contract law principles, such as the impact of counteroffers and the concept of invitation to treat. Finally, the essay discusses alternative dispute resolution methods, including arbitration, mediation, and conciliation, offering insights into efficient ways to resolve contractual breaches. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of contract law in regulating business relationships and ensuring legal enforceability, along with various methods to resolve disputes.

Business Law & Ethics

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
The law of contract basically has a very important role especially in the formation of a
contract and then legally binding the parties signing the contract into an enforceable agreement.
The law of contract basically regulates the relation between the parties that are bound with each
other due to the formation of contract between them (Berghaus and Drnovsek, 2018). This is
considered as a very important law as it creates the relation between the parties who have entered
into the contract where the parties are legally liable to complete the terms and conditions
specified into the contract agreement. The aim of this essay is to understand the fundamentals of
the English legal system company and business law.
MAIN BODY
The law contract is such a law that deals with the contractual relationship that exists between
the parties. The contract under this law is considered as a binding agreement between two or
more parties which is legally enforceable by the court. There are usually 5 essentials that are
considered to make a contract legally binding upon the parties. The first essential is when an
offer is made by one party to the other. The second element of a contract is acceptance. In this
the other party to whom the offer is made is to accept or reject the offer (Mattar, 2017). Once the
offer is made and is accepted by the other party this amounts to an agreement between the parties
which make agreement third essential of the contract. The 4th essential is the tension that exists
between the parties relating to the creation of a binding relationship between them. The parties to
the contract must have intention towards having a binding relationship between them through
contract. The last essential for a contract to be legally binding to a bond party is consideration.
The consideration is something written to a promise and this can be of anything which is of
value.
The legal system of the United Kingdom is a bit complicated. There are various types of
cases that are dealt by the judges in different Courtrooms. All the cases that are related to
criminal nature are dealt with by the magistrate Court (Aitken, 2020). If the nature of the
criminality in the cases of serious nature then touch criminal cases are directly sent to the crown
Court. Appeal from the Crown Court goes to the high court and then to the court of appeal.
Lastly all the cases are directed towards the Supreme Court which is considered as the supreme
of all the other courts and the decision provided by This Court is binding upon all the courts and

onto the parties (Sirgiovanni, 2018). On the other hand civil cases in the English legal system are
referred to the magistrate. This kind of case can also go to the county court. If the parties are not
satisfied with the decision of the court then there is any appeal for the cases to the high court and
then to the court of appeal and lastly to the Supreme Court.
In the first case scenario there was an advertisement of a printing press by Hillary which she
wanted to sell at £15,000. Eleanor counteroffers upon this offer to buy it for £10,000. Onto this
counter offer Hillary again made an offer of £13000. There was no further communication at the
end of Eleanor. Due to this Hillary again wrote to her that she would tell the printing press on the
rate of £10000. To this Eleanor replied that she is no more interested in buying. In this case there
is an offer made which was never accepted by the other party therefore this does not constitute
any contract between the parties. In this case an offer was made by one party and the other party
instead of accepting it made a counter offer upon it. The first party making an offer did not
accept the counter offer and instead of that she made another offer. The last of a made by Hillary
will be considered as a new offer as any offer which is made by an offer to the party it
automatically makes all the previous offers made worthless. In the case of Hyde v Wrench
(1840), it was established that making a counter offer voids the initial offer, making it impossible
for the offeree to accept it. Therefore there exists no legal contract between the parties.
In the second case scenario Hillary wrote a letter in which there was an offer for a sale of an
office computer to Amy for £ 1000. To this Amy agreed to buy a computer at the given price to
which she sent a letter to Hillary. Before the letter was delivered Amy changed her mind and
faxed Hillary on denying the offer and ignoring the letter she wrote. In this case there exists no
contract between the parties as when the latter was dispatched it definitely can be considered to
be an agreement between the parties but before the letter was read a Fax was delivered to Hillary
informing her about the denial of the offer and ignoring the letter written. If the letter had arrived
to Hillary before the fax then this would have constituted an agreement between the parties as
dispatching of the letter even if the receiver has not yet received the letter amounts to acceptance
of the offer. This might have formed an agreement between the parties which would have been
legally binding upon them. But in this case and are you there exist no legal contract between the
parties.
In the last scenario Hillary decided at her art gallery to have a grand summer sale. To attract
more and more customers to her Art Gallery she put a large notice stating that a famous artist's

valuable painting would be available to the first customer who enters the gallery for one. The
first customer along with this painting would also be entitled to get a free signed print of another
painting from the same artist. After reviewing this notice via waited outside the shop for almost
two days before the starting of the sale at the gallery. When Olivia entered the shop Hillary told
her that the painting from that artist is no longer for sale. In the case of Partridge v Crittenden,
(1968) the defendant advertised some bramble finches for sale in the classified section of a
magazine. It was illegal to sell such birds under Section 6 of the Protection of Birds Act of 1954.
He was charged with the crime and found guilty, but he appealed his verdict. The court decided
that the advertisement constituted an invitation to treat rather than an offer. As a result, the
conviction was overturned. In this case there exists no contract between the parties as the notice
was barely an invitation to treat therefore this does not constitute any kind of contract between
the parties.
In case the parties do not agree with each other and there is a contractual breach between
them then instead of going to the court there are several other methods which individuals may
opt for in order to have speedy and quick decision making. The first is the method of arbitration
which is an alternative dispute resolution method. In this method a third person known as
arbitrator is appointed which helps in resolution of the disputed matter between the parties
(Tayseng, 2018). The arbitrator listens to both sides of the parties and comes to the conclusion.
The order which is given by an arbitrator is binding upon the parties and is enforceable by law.
The next method to resolve disputes is mediation. In this process a third person called a mediator
is appointed who has parties coming onto the conclusion by discussing the matter of dispute
between them. The decision or suggestions given by the mediator is not binding upon the parties.
The work of mediator merrily is to help parties come up to the Conclusion and offer them his
guidance and suggestions. Another method to resolve disputes is conciliation. In this method
both the parties are provided with the conciliator that is a third party which helps them to draw
up to some conclusion by discussing the matter of dispute between them (Fattahi, 2017). The
work of a conciliator is only to help parties discuss the matter and he is not allowed to throw his
insights or suggestions on the disputed matter.

CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the above discussion that contract is very important especially for the
regulation of contractual relationships that exist between the individuals who are involved in a
contractual agreement. There are various kinds of agreements which can be drawn by the party
but only those agreements are legally enforceable that have fulfilled all the Essentials of a valid
and legal contract. There are various ways in which the parties to the contract resolve the dispute
in case there is any breach of contract between them. These processes are distinct from the
processes from the court and allow individuals to have quick decisions without wasting that time.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Aitken, L., 2020. Heydon on Contract.
Berghaus, N.S. and Drnovsek, K., 2018. Applicability Range of Smart Contracts in the Field of
Contract Law. Pravni Letopis, p.41.
Fattahi, M., 2017. Methodology of Contract Formation. Judgment, 17(89), pp.133-151.
Mattar, M.Y., 2017. Integrating the Unidroit Principles of International Commercial Contracts as
a source of contract law in Arab Civil Codes. Uniform Law Review, 22(1), pp.168-201.
Sirgiovanni, B., 2018. Termination of contract by non-performance in the current Italian legal
system.
Tayseng, L., 2018. Formation of contract and third parties in Cambodia. In Formation and Third
Party Beneficiaries (pp. 343-364). Oxford University Press.