ABSTRACT
In the final chapter in this section which focuses on how deals are made, we look at the second key component which has been required in the law of contract if an agreement is to be enforced – consideration. The doctrine is fundamental to the classical model and is the mechanism through which the judiciary have sought to distinguish between gifts and commercial exchanges. It is important to understand from the start that evidence of consideration may be needed more than once in the life of a contractual relationship. Whenever the parties need to vary the terms of the original agreement they will need to provide fresh consideration as, in the eyes of traditionalists, this is a fresh deal. It will be seen that it is this condition which has caused the most tension between the requirements of doctrine and the needs and practices of the business community. We learnt when looking at the work of Macaulay and others in Chapter 4 that business people are not as concerned with formalities as lawyers. The commercial pressures or tight deadlines which they work with on a daily basis mean that they are often prepared to accept changes to contractual arrangements suggested by the other party to the deal without even considering what new thing they need to offer in exchange in order to make the variation legally binding.
