A) Lea el siguiente texto con atención y realice las actividades que se sugieren a continuación.

CONTRACTS

1- Simple Contracts A contract is made where parties have reached agreement , or where they are
deemed to have reached an agreement , and the law recognizes rights and obligations arising
from the agreement . Almost all contracts are simple contracts, as distinguished from specialty
contracts, i.e. contracts made under seal. Any general study of the law of contract must be
concerned almost entirely with simple contracts.

2- Essential elements There are three fundamental elements in any simple contract. They are:

Agreement: The parties must have reached, or to be deemed to have reached, agreement.

lntention: The parties must have intended, or to be deemed to have intended, to create legal
relations.

Consideration: According to the terms of agreement, some advantage moves from each party to
the other. The giving of mutual advantages by the parties is the essence of a bargain. Any
advantage or benefit moving from one party to another is known as consideration.

In any transaction where one of these elements is missing there is no contract.

3- Manner of agreement: An agreement may be made in any manner whatsoever, provided the
parties are in communication. An agreement may be made:

a) in writing

b) by word of mouth or

c) by inference from the conduct of the parties and the circumstances of the case or

d) by any combination of the above modes.

4- The test of agreement: Adequate tests are necessary to enable the court to decide cases
involving dispute:

a) as to whether agreement was reached at all, or

b) as to the extent of the agreement, i.e. the terms of the agreement.

In both issues the intention of the parties is paramount. The function of contract law is, largely, to
develop principles which may be used towards the settlement of such disputes . lt is very
important to understand that the question of terms of contracts does not arise unless and until it is
established that agreement has been reached.

5- Intention and agreement: The intention of the parties is gathered from the express terms of
contract. Also, where necessary, the conduct of the parties is taken into account, for much can be
infered from conduct. The court is not concerned with inward mental intent of the parties, but
rather, with what a reasonable man would say was the intention of the parties, having regard to all
the circumstances. Where it is necessary to give a contract business efficacy, the court will imply
terms to give effect to the presumed intentions of the parties. The presumed intention may or
may not be the same as the actual intention. lt must follow that when we speak of "agreement" in
contract, we include the notional agreement which the parties may be deemed to have reached.

lt has been held by the House of Lords that in construing the written terms of a contract, evidence
of the preceding negotiations is not admissible, nor is evidence of the parties' intentions during
negotiations: Prenn v. Simmonds (1971).

6- Offer and acceptance. In order to discover whether agreement was reached between the
parties, it is usual to analyse the negotiations into offer and acceptance. Many negotiations are
too complicated to lend themselves to an easy analysis of this kind , but the courts will try to
discover whether , at any time , one party can be said to have accepted the firm offer of the
other.

Sometimes analysis will show a unilateral contract, i.e. that the offeror has included in his offer
an express provision that, performance by the offeree in a manner stipulated in the offer, will
conclude a binding contract. A common example would be the offer to pay a reward to the finder
of a lost valuable.

7- Rlghts and obllgations. Where the parties have made a binding contract, they have created
rights and obligations between themselves. The contractual rights and obligations are correlative
e.g. X agrees with Y to sell his car for $ 500 to Y. In this example, the following rights and
obligations have been created:

a) X is under an obligation to deliver his car to Y. Y has a correlative right to receive the car.

b) Y is under an obligation to pay $ 500 to : X has a correlative right to receive the $ 500.
8- Breach of contract Where the party neglects or refuses to honour a contractual obligation,
there is a breach of contract. A breach by one party causes a right of action to accrue to the other
party. The usual remedy for breach of contract is damages, i.e. the award of a sum of money to
put the aggrieved party in the position he would have enjoyed had the contract not been broken.
The sum is paid, of course, by the contract breaker following the award of the court. In certain
special circumstances, the court may order the contract - breaker to carry out his contractual
promise specifically. This is known as the equitable remedy of specific performance. Specific
performance is never awarded where damages will suffice.

9 - Specialty Contracts. The terms of some contracts are embodied in a document which is then
signed, sealed and delivered by the parties. This is the most solemn formality of contract- making
known to English law. The most important practical difference between simple contracts and
specialty contracts is that the period of limitation is six years and twelve respectively. The period of
limitation is the period of time in which that action for breach of contract may be brought. The
Limitation Act 1980 provides that an action upon a specialty contract cannot be brought after the
experiation of twelve years from the date on which the cause of action accrued, i.e. the date of
the breach of contract ( see . 17:32). A promise given under seal is binding even if was given in
return for consideration from the promise (sea 4:1). Source: Major, W. T. The Law of Contracts,
London, 1992.

B) Actividades

Escriba el título de la sección donde usted encuentra los siguientes temas. (5pts.)

Derechos y Obligaciones. Sección N° 7

La intención y el acuerdo. Sección N°5

Los contratos simples. Sección N°1

Los elementos esenciales. Sección N°2

El modo de acuerdo. Sección N°3

2. Encuentre en el texto las siguientes ideas y transcríbalas en inglés. (42pts)

a) Se considera incumplimiento de contrato cuando una de las partes desatiende o rehúsa cumplir
una obligación contractual.

Breach of contract Where the party neglects or refuses to honour a contractual obligation, there
is a breach of contract.

b) El recurso usual para el incumplimiento es daños y perjuicios.

The usual remedy for breach of contract is damages

c) En ambos casos la intención de las partes es fundamental.

In both issues the intention of the parties is paramount.

d) La ley reconoce los derechos y obligaciones que surgen del acuerdo.

(...)the law recognizes rights and obligations arising from the agreement

e) Para determinar si se llegó a un acuerdo entre las partes, es común analizar las negociaciones
respecto de la oferta y la aceptación.

(...)it is usual to analyse the negotiations into offer and acceptance.

f) Todo estudio general de la ley de contratos debe estar relacionado casi por completo con los
contratos simples.

Any general study of the law of contract must be concerned almost entirely with simple contracts.

4. Traduzca al castellano el primer párrafo del texto. (23pts)

1- Simple Contracts A contract is made where parties have reached agreement, or where they are
deemed to have reached an agreement , and the law recognizes rights and obligations arising
from the agreement . Almost all contracts are simple contracts, as distinguished from specialty
contracts, i.e. contracts made under seal. Any general study of the law of contract must be
concerned almost entirely with simple contracts.

Contatos simples: un contrato se realiza cuando las partes llegan a un acuerdo, o cuando se
considera que ellas han llegado a un acuerdo, y la ley reconoce los derechos y obligaciones
derivadas del acuerdo. Casi todos los contratos son contratos simples, a diferencia de los contratos
especiales, es decir, contratos realizados bajo sello. Cualquier estudio de la ley de contratos debe
ocuparse casi enteramente de los contratos simples.

3. Establezca si las siguientes expresiones son Verdaderas o Falsas. Corrija las respuestas falsas. (30
pts)

Cada vez que las partes realizan un contrato de obligaciones crean derechos y obligaciones entre
las partes. _______V

Las partes deben haber arribado a un acuerdo, o deben estar obligados a haber alcanzado un
acuerdo. ________F Las partes deben haber arripado a un acuerdo o se debe considerar que
llegaron al mismo

La intención de las partes se establece por escrito en el contrato. V________

La diferencia práctica más importante entre los contratos simples y los sellados es la firma y el
sello. ________F La diferencia es que se realiza bajo sello

Son necesarias pruebas adecuadas que permitan a la Corte decidir los casos que presentan
conflicto. _________V

La Corte no tiene atribuciones para ordenar a quien viola un contrato a que lleve a cabo su
promesa contractual. ________F La corte si tiene atribuciones para ordenar a quien viola un
contrato a que lleve su promesa contratactual.