Business Law - The Rule of Law With Reference To Relevant Authority - Essay Example

?Business Law Table of Contents Part A: Question One 3 Step One: Identification of Legal Issue 3 Step Two: Rule of Law With Reference To Relevant Authority 3 Step Three: Rule of Law Applied To Facts 4 Step Four: Conclusion 5 Part A: Question 2 6 Step One: Identification of Legal Issue 6 Step Two: Rule of Law 6 Step Three: Rule of Law Applied To Facts 8 Step Four: Conclusion 9 Part B 10 References 11 Part A: Question One Step One: Identification of Legal Issue The area of law involved in the case is Contract law. Step Two: Rule of Law With Reference To Relevant Authority A contract’s main objective is to formalize a conformity taking place between two or more than two parties for a specific subject1. Australian Contract Law is dependent upon the inherited English contract law with precise statutory alteration of principles in a few of the areas. The creation of the Australian law has been because of the decisions made by the Australian courts along with diverse laws that have been passed by the Parliament of Australia2. In the context of this case study, it can be assumed that both the elements i.e. intention as well as consideration needed for the formation of a contract exists. The main intention of Sally is to sell the bicycle to either Peter or Burt at a cost so that she can meet her outstanding accounts with the creditors and thus needs to make a payment of AU$4000 within the next few days. For a contract to be lawfully obligatory, it is quite necessary for consideration for a promise to exist3. Considerations from part of Peter can be established on the ground related to condition of the bike to be purchased and the free consent in between the two entities becoming a part of the contract. It is to be mentioned that a contract generally comes into subsistence when there are three elements present such as intention to be lawfully bound, agreement and formal execution in a deed. An agreement is attained in numerous ways such as after long and complex negotiation, by accommodating standard terms and conditions that have been set out in a document. An agreement can also be reached without expressly stated terms and when one party proposes to do something in return of an act. The basic method of attaining consent can describe as involving offer and acceptance. An offer must be complete, promissory and proposed to consequence in a contract if accepted. Acceptance needs to be made in an acceptable form4. Step Three: Rule of Law Applied To Facts The case involves numerous legal issues. One of the issues is related to the fact that the bike was delivered to Peter without his consent. For a contract, there must be agreement involving two parties5. The initial price of the bike was quoted to be AU$6000. However, Peter negotiated over the price and asked the bike for an amount of AU$4000. Sally agreed to sell the bike at AU$4000 to Peter. However, Peter refused to pay the specified amount. This can be considered as a legal issue. Peter is not supposed to alter his mind and thus must make decisions rationally. It is to be mentioned that the case presented cannot be considered as a contract since it does not meet the needs of contract. However, it can be stated that the element of agreement required for the formation of a contract can be established. In the context of the case, it has been identified that Sally did not take approval from Peter for purchasing the bike at an agreed upon price. She must not have delivered the bike without gaining any consent from Peter. Sally must state in written statement that she agrees to sell the bicycle to Peter at AU$4000 and Peter must state in written statement that he agrees to buy the bicycle at the price that he has agreed to pay. This will assist both the parties in eliminating any kind of confusions regarding the exchange of goods in the near future. Sally can claim that her business has an enforceable contract with Peter when he concurs to buy the bicycle at the amount that has been decided by both the parties. Step Four: Conclusion Contract can be stated as consent among two or more than two parties upon a specified subject. In the case above, it has been noted that Sally wants to sell her bike in order to meet her financial requirements. Peter wants to buy the bike at certain amount which Sally agrees to offer because she needs to meet her financial requirements. Peter denies purchasing the bike at the last moment. It is to be mentioned that the element of agreement was missing from this contract. If Sally could have gained agreement from Peter regarding the sale of bike then she would have not faced the issue at all. Therefore, for a contract to be successful the parties need to pay due attention towards the element of contract. Part A: Question 2 Step One: Identification of Legal Issue The area of law involved in the case is sales of good act. Step Two: Rule of Law It has been identified that the terms which need to be expressly agreed in relation to the sale of bicycle is buyers right which states that if a good is incapable of meeting the acceptable quality or fitness for purpose then the purchaser may be entitled to return the good and thus obtain a complete refund according to the type of the good so that it can be returned or repaired6. The buyer also has a right to refuse the goods if he/she finds that the goods are faulty. However, it is to be remembered that the buyer must do so in a reasonable time. At the bottom of the document through which sales transaction is made there must be a clause stating in clear words the various terms and conditions associated with the purchase of the product from a particular store7. This will aid the company in avoiding any kinds of conflicts or issues from arising in the near future. Agreement refers to meeting of the consensus on as a minimum those significant terms required for workable transactions. When sale contract takes place, there must be consensus as to what is being purchased and sold, the price that the customer is supposed to pay and that the transaction is a sale8. Agreements can be formally implemented in a deed where there is no doubt that it needs to be treated as enforceable. Terms can be identified as being ‘expressed’ if they have been declared or stated definitely either in written terms or in oral. Terms which are implied into certain forms of contract are termed as generic terms. Sale of goods legislation comprises residual provisions for the gaps that occur in sales contract. A transaction can be treated as a warranty where a contract related to sale is subjected to any context to be accomplished by the seller. The purchaser may surrender the situation or may decide to treat the breach of such situation as a break of warranty9. Step Three: Rule of Law Applied To Facts The legal issue that took place is that when Sally placed advertisement for the bike, and it was stated in clear terms that the bike has been refurbished and repainted. However, when Peter took the bike out of its wrapping, he noticed the fact that the bike was not at all in a condition as stated in the advertisement. The other legal issue is that Peter must have complained and reported Sally as soon as he saw that the bike’s condition was not good. It was clearly mentioned in the clause prior to signing the paper that any guarantee given in relation to the goods is limited to first thirty days of purchase. He reported Sally after thirty days which was against the clause of the company. It is apparent from the case that there has been breach of contract among the parties. In the context of the case study, it can be mentioned that the element of agreement has been met because Sally has described in written form that the guarantee for the product is only for thirty days and Peter read the agreement prior to signing the contract. It is illegitimate from part of Sally to advertise that the product is in good condition and then deliver the bike which is not at workable position. It can be analyzed that Peter must understand the sales terms clearly before making the purchase. If he had reported Sally regarding the unpleasant condition of the bike as soon as he saw the bike then Sally could have replaced the bike or could have refunded him certain amount of money. Step Four: Conclusion In order to have proper sales contract, it is significant for the seller to establish numerous clauses in relation to the product and the buyer is supposed to read the clauses that have been explicitly mentioned by the seller in the contract. If the buyer finds that the good is actually not in a good condition as stated in the contract then he/she has the right to take action against the company. Part B It can be stated that when the courts go through the method of interpreting legislations, the judges make use of numerous devices in order to assist them. The judges are allowed to look outside the Acts of Parliament for assistance in interpreting legislations. In order to facilitate interpretation, numerous Acts permit the courts to make use of extrinsic evidence which means that the information is attained from outside of the Act itself. Intrinsic evidence implies information which is gained from within the Act. An illustration of extrinsic evidence is a publication known as Hansard. This publication is not a part of the Act and is a record of debates in parliament with regards the legislation of Australia. An instance of intrinsic evidence can be deemed to be the definition section of Act10. References Australasian Legal Information Institute, 2012. “Sale Of Goods Act 1895”. “Subject Matter of Contract”. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/consol_act/soga1895128/ Australian Government, 2011. “The Essential Ingredient of Contract”. “The Different Types of Contract”. http://www.innovation.gov.au/SmallBusiness/WorkingWithContracts/Documents/workingwithcontracts.pdf Anu College of Law, 2012. “Contract Formation-Offer and Acceptance”. “Agreement”. http://law.anu.edu.au/colin/lectures/off_acc.htm Getfrank, 2012. “The Sale of Goods Act”. “Remedies under the Sale of Goods Act”. http://www.getfrank.com.au/investment/entrepreneur-sme-s/an-overview-of-the-sale-of-goods-act Law Reform Commission of Western Australia, 2012. “The Sale of Goods Act 1895”. “Nature and Extent of Consultation”. http://www.lrc.justice.wa.gov.au/2publications/summaries/P89.PDF Networked Knowledge, No Date. “Contract Law Lecture - Formation of Contract - Offer and Acceptance”. “Contract”. http://netk.net.au/Contract/02Formation.asp New Age Publishers, No Date. “Law of Contract”. “What is a Contract”. http://www.newagepublishers.com/samplechapter/001048.pdf State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Training, 2006. “Interpretation of the Law”. “Extrinsic and Intrinsic Evidence”. http://sielearning.tafensw.edu.au/MBA/19194J/commerc_law/lo/u1_t6_cstat/u1_t6_cstat_02.htm Twyford, J. W., 2002. “The Doctrine of Consideration”. “Contracts as Bargain”. http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/handle/2100/286/02Wholethesis.pdf?sequence=2 Valente, D., 2010. “Enforcing Promises: Consideration and Intention in the Law of Contract”. “Promise”. http://www.otago.ac.nz/law/oylr/2010/Dena_Valente.pdf Read More