Contract Law, The Law of Personal Property Essay

Contract Law, The Law of Personal Property - Essay Example exemption clauses. According to the provisions of this act there are three broad divisions of control: first, is the control over contract terms that exclude or restrict liability for 'negligence', secondly, control over contract terms that exclude or restrict liability for breach of certain terms implied by statute or by common law in contracts of sale of goods, hire-purchase etc. Thirdly, a more general control in consumer contracts and standard form contracts over terms that exclude or restrict liability for breach of contract, or which purport to entitle one of the parties to render a contractual performance different from that expected or to render no performance at all. If the term of the contract comes within the purview of this act then the control regime will take its form in either of the two ways i.e. the restriction or exclusion of liability may be rendered absolutely ineffective or it may be effective only in so far as the term of the contract satisfies the test of reasonableness. ... It can be said that subject to certain exceptions, the Unfair Contract Terms Act,1977 only applies to contract terms 'excluding or restricting' specific types of liability; but they are extended to include terms such as : (a) making the liability or its enforcement subject to restrictive or onerous conditions;(b) excluding or restricting any right or remedy in respect of liability, or subjecting a person to any prejudice in consequence of his pursuing any such right or remedy, (c) excluding or restricting rules of evidence or procedure. The practical difficulty, however, is to distinguish such terms from provisions that prevent a contractual duty from arising or circumscribe its extent, or which merely allocate the responsibilities under the contract between the parties(5) The Courts should determine whether a term in a contract 'excludes or restricts' liability by asking whether it deprives a contracting party of the contractual performance which the parties reasonably expected(6). The Unfair Contract Terms Act,1977 for most part exclude or restrict 'business liability'. It means liability for breach of obligations or duties arising - (a) from things done or to be done by a person in the course of a business.; (b) from the occupation of premises used for business purposes of the occupier. As a general rule, greater protection is afforded by the act to a person who deals as consumer than to one who does not. In order that a party should have dealt as consumer, two conditions must have to be satisfied. First, the party must not have made the contract in the course of a business or held himself or herself out as doing so. Secondly, the other party must have made the contract in the course of a business. 'R.&B