- •Московская финансово-промышленная академия
- •Unit 1. The Structure of English legal System
- •1. Words to be remembered.
- •2. Text for reading. The Classification of English Law
- •Legal Personality
- •Natural persons
- •Corporations
- •Unincorporated associations
- •The Sources of English Law
- •Case law
- •Legislation
- •The Courts in Great Britain European Community Law
- •The direct applicability and direct effectivity of Community law
- •Legislation
- •5. Recite the main points of the text. Unit 2. Business Organisations
- •1. Words to be remembered.
- •2. Text for reading.
- •A. The Sole Trader
- •B. The Partnership
- •The existence of a business
- •Carried on in common
- •With a view of profit
- •Persons capable of being partners
- •Firm and the firm name
- •Illegal Partnerships
- •The Relations of Partners to One Another
- •Partnership Property
- •The rights of Partnership Inter Se
- •The expulsion of a partner
- •Duties of Partners Rendering true accounts and full information
- •Duty to account for secret profits
- •Duty not to compete with the firm
- •The relations of Partners to Persons dealing with Them Powers of partners to bind the firm
- •Liability for Debts and Contractual Obligations
- •Liability in Torts
- •Vicarious liability
- •3. Questions.
- •4. Find the following sentences in the text.
- •5. Recite the main points of the text. Unit 3. Business Organisations The Registered Company
- •1. Words to be remembered.
- •2. Text for reading. C. The Registered Company
- •Unlimited liability companies
- •Limited liability companies
- •Private and public companies limited by shares
- •Groups of Companies: Holding and Subsidiary Companies
- •Separate legal person
- •The Constitution of a Registered Company
- •The contents of the Memorandum
- •The name clause
- •Change of name
- •Common law restrictions on choice of name: ‘passing off’
- •The registered office clause
- •The capital clause
- •Company Promoters
- •Fiduciary duties of promoters
- •Pre-incorporation contracts
- •Provisional Contracts by Public Companies
- •3. Questions.
- •4. Find the following sentences in the text.
- •5. Recite the main points of the text. Unit 4. Business Organisations The Registered Company as Itself
- •1. Words to be remembered.
- •2. Text for reading. The Directors
- •The appointment of directors
- •The retirement of directors
- •Age restrictions on directors
- •Disqualification of directors
- •Duty to disqualify unfit directors of insolvent companies
- •The Company Secretary
- •The Enforcement of Directors’ Duties
- •Common law exceptions to the rule in Foss V. Harbottle
- •Illegal acts
- •Personal rights of a shareholder
- •The form of the minority action.
- •Statutory exceptions to Foss V. Harbottle
- •Just and equitable winding up
- •Department of Trade investigations.
- •3. Questions.
- •4. Find the following sentences in the text.
- •5. Recite the main points of the text. Unit 5. Shares and Shareholders
- •1. Words to be remembered.
- •2. Text for reading. Shares and Shareholders
- •The rights and liabilities of the shareholder
- •Registered and bearer shares
- •Mortgages of shares
- •Classes of share
- •Variation of shareholders’ rights
- •Becoming a Member of a Company
- •Ceasing to be Member
- •Transfer of Shares
- •Restrictions on transfers
- •The Register of Members
- •4. Find the following sentences in the text.
- •5. Recite the main point of the text.
- •Control of Rogue Dealers
- •Monopolies
- •Mergers
- •The Consumer Protection Act 1987
- •Defective product
- •3. Questions.
- •4. Find the following sentences in the text.
- •5. Recite the main points of the text. Unit 7. Bankruptcy
- •1. Words to be remembered.
- •2. Text for reading. Bankruptcy
- •Persons who can be made bankrupt
- •The bankruptcy petition
- •The consequences of the bankruptcy order
- •3. Questions.
- •4. Find the following sentences in the text.
- •Unit 8. The Law of Agency
- •1. Words to be remembered.
- •2. Text for reading. Definition of Agency
- •Types of Agent
- •The Authority of the Agent
- •By conscent of the principal
- •Ratification
- •Authority by operation of the law: agency of necessity
- •3. Questions.
- •4. Find the following sentences in the text.
- •5. Recite the main points of the text. Unit 9. The Law of Tort
- •1. Words to be remembered.
- •Tort – деликт, гражданское правонарушение
- •2. Text for reading.
- •Importance of Tortious Liability
- •Torts affecting the person
- •Torts affecting property
- •Torts affecting economic rights
- •Torts affecting reputation
- •Torts affecting rights generally
- •3. Questions.
- •4. Find the following sentences in the text.
- •5. Recite the main points of the text. Unit 10. The Law of Contract
- •1. Words to be remembered.
- •2. Text for reading. The Law of Contract
- •Essentials of a Contract
- •Contracts for the Sale of Goods
- •The Form of the Contract
- •The Implied Terms in a Contract for the Sale of Goods
- •3. Questions.
- •4. Find the following sentences in the text.
- •5. Recite the main points of the text. Unit 11. Contracts of Employment
- •1. Words to be remembered.
- •2. Text for reading. Contracts of Employment The Contract for Service and the Contract for Services
- •The distinguishing criteria
- •The position of casual workers
- •The position of temporary workers
- •Vicarious Liability
- •Continuity of Employment
- •Formation of the Contract of Employment.
- •Terms implied into a contract of employment by the common law
- •Terms implied into contracts of employment by statute
- •Unfair dismissal
- •Remedies for unfair dismissal
- •Transfers of undertakings.
- •Fixed Term and Performance Contracts
- •3. Questions.
- •4. Find the following sentences in the text.
- •5. Recite the main points of the text. Unit 12. The Nature and Classification of Business Property
- •1. Words to be learned.
- •2. Text for reading. The Nature and Classification of Business Property
- •Introduction into English Law of Real Property
- •Freehold estates
- •Leasehold estates
- •Equitable estates
- •Legal and equitable estates compared
- •Registered and Unregistered Conveyancing
- •Unregistered conveyancing
- •Registered conveyancing
- •The Classification of Estates and Interest in Land: Unregistered and Registered Unregistered land
- •Registered land
- •Choses in Possession
- •Choses in Action
- •Assignable choses in action
- •Negotiable choses
- •Negotiable instruments.
- •Intellectual Property Rights Trade marks and brand names
- •3. Questions.
- •4. Find the following sentences in the text.
- •5. Recite the main points of the text. Unit 13. The Nature of Security
- •1. Words to be learned.
- •2. Text for reading. Securities for Loans The Nature of a Security
- •Mortgages of Land
- •Legal mortgages
- •Mortgage by demise.
- •Legal charge.
- •Priority and Protection of Mortgagees
- •Mortgage protection in unregistered conveyancing
- •Mortgage protection in registered land
- •3. Questions
- •4. Find the following sentences in the text.
- •5. Recite the main points of the text.
- •Vocabulary a
- •Latin terms
Ratification
Where an agent acts without authority or beyond his authority, the principal may choose to adopt the contract by ratification. Ratification is only possible subject to certain conditions: if these are not complied with then the ratification will be ineffective. The conditions are as follows:
(i) The principal must have been in existence when the contract was negotiated on his behalf. Registered companies cannot ratify contracts negotiated on their behalf before their incorporation.
(ii) The agent must contract as such and name or identify the principal. In Keighley, Maxtead v. Durant [1901] the agent purchased wheat at a higher price than authorised but without revealing that he was acting as an agent. The principal purported to ratify the contract but later refused to accept delivery. The House of Lords held that he could not be liable for damages for breach of contract.
(iii) The principal cannot ratify a void contract or a forgery.
(iv) The principal must have capacity to contract both at the time the contract was negotiated and at ratification.
(v) The principal must be aware of all material facts relating to the contract. This is the general rule but a principal may ratify the acts of his agent without knowing of them, Fitzmaurice v. Bayley (1856).
(vi) Ratification must be of the whole contract.
(vii) Ratification must be subsequent, within a reasonable time and before the time fixed for performance of the contract.
Ratification is retrospective excluding: contracts of insurance, except for marine insurance, and where it would cause excessive hardship to third parties. Ratification can be express or by implication and there are no strict formal requirements except that, where the agent has contracted by deed, the ratification must also be by deed. Ratification will in many cases arise from conduct of the principal and it is sometimes difficult to identify whether an act of ratification has taken place. Thus in Forman & Co. Proprietary, Ltd v. The Ship Liddesdale [1900] a shipowner’s agent ordered extra repairs to be done to a ship beyond the scope of his authority. The shipowner later took the ship back and sold it. It was argued that the act of taking back the ship constituted ratification but the court rejected this argument saying that the shipowner had little option but to take the ship back and that ratification required some positive unequivocal act. However in other cases the court has accepted that, where an agent acted beyond his autority in buying goods and where the principal objected but later sold some of the goods, this amounted to ratification.
Where an agent accepts an offer on behalf of his principal ‘subject to ratification’, the acceptance is a legal nullity until ratification and if the offer is revoked before ratification there is no contract: Watson v. Swann (1862).
Authority by operation of the law: agency of necessity
Agency of necessity arises where the court recognises a person as having the authority of an agent to bind another person. This is subject to the following conditions:
(i) A person must have responsibility for the property of another under a pre-existing contract.
(ii) There must be some emergency which arises in connection with the property of that person.
(iii) The person charged with responsibility for the property must be unable to get instructions from the owner of the property.