Question 1 (b)
The law of contract is not the whole law of agreements nor of obligations
6 marks
- Time to write
- About 12 minutes
From an older CBCS paper
Question
Question 1 (b) · 6 marks‘The law of contracts is not all of the law of agreements; nor is it all of the law of obligations.” Explain.
Reworded from the university paper; the task is the same. The original paper belongs to the University of Delhi. See DU's question bank.
Before you write
Read off the question and its marks
Read from the question
- ExplainEach point stated, then explained in a line or two.
Write it in this order
- Read; underline the asks; jot your points 1 min
- 1 Agreement and contract 3 marks 5 min
- 2 Obligations outside the law of contract 2 marks 4 min
- 3 Conclusion 1 mark 1 min
- Check: every ask answered, key terms underlined 1 min
Short on time? Trim steps 1 and 2 evenly rather than skip one: each is capped at its own marks. End with step 3 in a line or two.
Try it first. About 12 minutes for 6 marks. Write it out, then open the solution.
Solution
Hover or tap a marked figure, like 72,000, to see how it is made and where else it appears.
Explanation. The law of contract does not regulate every promise people make, nor every duty the law imposes. It deals only with agreements the law will enforce and the obligations that come from them. Under the Indian Contract Act, 1872, a contract is an agreement enforceable by law, and an agreement that the law will not enforce is void.
Not the whole law of agreements. "Agreement" is the wider word: any promise, or set of promises given for each other, whether social or legal. Only those meant to have legal consequences become contracts, so every contract is an agreement but not every agreement is a contract. Two friends who agree to meet for a film, and a mother who promises her daughter a trip if she passes her exams, make agreements no court will enforce; such social and domestic arrangements lie outside the law of contract.
Not the whole law of obligations. Many legal duties do not arise from agreement at all, and the Contract Act does not govern them. A driver's duty not to injure pedestrians, a company's duty to pay tax, and a parent's duty to support a child exist whether or not anyone agreed to them; they belong to the law of torts, tax law and family law.
Conclusion. The law of contract is the law of enforceable agreements only: it excludes agreements that create no legal obligation, and obligations that do not arise from agreement.
Where the 6 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agreement and contract | 3 |
| 2 | Obligations outside the law of contract | 2 |
| 3 | Conclusion | 1 |
| Total | 6 |
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