Consideration And Cause

Consideration is an important term in English and American contract law, and it is a body of rules enriched by the development of common law. There are many rules about consideration, among which the following may be most frequently mentioned: Past consideration is no consideration; Consideration is provided by the promisee, though not necessarily to the promisor; The adequacy and sufficiency of consideration. Meanwhile, many exceptions have been set to these rules.Cause is a term seen in the contract law of some civil law countries. In French civil law, it contains two aspects of meaning: The first is the reason the parties make a contract, i.e. the proximate cause; The second is the ultimate aim that the parties want to achieve through a contract, and it is called the remote cause of a contract. The theory of cause has experienced the development from the classical objective cause theory to the contemporary subjective cause theory, and it illustrates the tendency of strengthening the protection of public interest. In German civil law, civil juristic acts are divided into causative acts and abstract acts. The criterion is if the act can be seperated from its cause.Consideration and cause have lots in common, while there are great differences between them as far as conception, function, formation and destiny are concerned. Consideration may consist either in some right, interest, profit, or benefit accruing to one party, or some forbearance, detriment, loss, or responsibility given, suffered, or undertaken by the other. It is frequently taken by the court as the basis for awards. It also plays a role as the testification for the intention of the parties. But cause per se means the direct or ultimate aim of an act It can help the parties to be cautious, to reduce the flaws of their business and make the exchange more stable. Additionally,there are lots of disputes about the formation and destiny of consideration and cause. But it seems not so easy to abolish them, because they are undertakers of some concrete rules. Some other theory will take the place and function the same even if they are abolished. We can do away with their names, but not their contents.