ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with the issue of the enforceability of promises. In the previous chapter the factors which lead a court to conclude that there was sufficient of an ‘agreement’ for there to be a binding contract were discussed. In Chapter 4 the overarching concept of an ‘intention to create legal relations’ will be considered. Three main issues are dealt with in this chapter – deeds, the doctrine of consideration, and situations where promises are regarded as enforceable even in the absence of a deed or consideration. The main example of that type of enforceability is to be found in the concept of ‘reasonable reliance’, which can be seen to be at the root of the so called ‘doctrine of promissory estoppel’.
