Promise, Contractual Obligations And The Freedom Of Contract

Contract is one of the modes of mutual communication, and, at some degree, our action is restricted by this mode respectively. So, contract can arise obligation to confine the deeds of parties spontaneously. At the same time, according to the complex and familiar legal phenomenon as contract, we can use kinds of means to research. Yet, in order to explain the source of the obligation of contract, the most important theory is the Normative Theory of Contract. Therefore, this dissertation, Promise, The Obligation of Contract and The Freedom of Contract: The Development of Normative Theory of Contract In the Anglo-American Law is try to analyze the three main Normative Theory of Contract—the obligation theory of reliance, the obligation theory of transfer and the obligation theory of promise, trying to justify that the obligation theory of promise bear the more predominant position among those theories, hereby, it can be the main theory to explain the source of contract obligation. This text is composed of five parts. Hereinto, the aim of the introduction is to disclose the main issue that the text shall discuss, and the significant meaning possessed in this text. Chapter 1 is to justify the definition of contract base on the promise. For, only if the definition of contract base on the promise, we can explain the most three familiar contract—unilateral contract, bilateral contract and formal contract. And, we can illuminate the function of contract sufficiently only by such definition of contract. Chapter 2 mainly analyzes the theory of reliance obligation and the theory of transference obligation carefully, trying to probe into the internal problems. Hereinto, related to the theory of reliance obligation, the most severely problem is that we can't obtain the notion of obligation from the reliance; related to the theory of transference obligation, the most significant defect is that it can't explain the new right and obligation, which parties create them thought the mode of consensus. Chapter 3 is to justify the obligation theory of promise is the main source of contract obligation. In order to pursuit it, we shall: firstly, justify that promise can create the obligation; secondly, criticize the notion that promise and contract are two kinds of business of different style; thirdly, justify the contract theory based on the promise is the main mechanism to cause the enforcement. Chapter 4 is to response to the theory, which tries to deny the will theory by citing the falling of the freedom of contract, then, want to deny the result of the obligation theory of promise. Therefore, we shall discuss the reason of rising and falling of the freedom of contract separately, and explain the freedom of contract by the obligation theory of promise, so that we can dissolve above-mentioned criticisms. The last part is conclusion.