Unit 3.3 – Contract Law: Terms, Breach & Remedies

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms related to contractual terms, types of breach, and available remedies from Unit 3.3 Business Law lecture.

Term (in Contract Law)

Any promise or set of promises that form part of a legally enforceable agreement and define the rights and obligations of the parties.

Express Term

A contractual provision explicitly agreed upon by the parties, such as subject-matter, price, quantity, or delivery date.

Implied Term

A contractual provision inserted by law, custom, or statute and treated as though written into the contract, regardless of the parties’ actual intentions.

Statutory Implied Term

A contract term supplied by legislation, such as consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

Condition (Contract)

An essential term; breach entitles the innocent party to damages and/or termination (rescission) of the contract.

Warranty (Contract)

A non-essential term; breach only gives the innocent party a right to sue for damages, not to terminate the contract.

Breach of Contract

Failure or refusal to perform any contractual term, giving rise to possible damages and, in some cases, termination rights.

Complete Failure to Perform

A form of breach where a party makes no effort to perform, performs something entirely different, or repudiates before performance is due, allowing damages and termination.

Partial Performance

A breach where some but not all contractual terms are met, entitling the innocent party to damages only.

Remedies (Contract)

Legal or equitable means awarded to an innocent party to address a breach, including damages, specific performance, and injunctions.

Damages

A common-law monetary award aimed at placing the innocent party in the position they would have been in had the breach not occurred.

Equitable Remedies

Non-monetary court orders, such as specific performance or injunctions, granted when damages are inadequate or unavailable.

Specific Performance

Court order compelling a party to fulfill contractual obligations, typically used for unique goods or land.

Injunction

Court order restraining a party from commencing or continuing a wrongful act in breach of contract.

Rescission (Termination)

The discharge of contractual obligations following breach of a condition, returning parties to their pre-contract positions.