ABSTRACT
Historically, the law of contract has evolved by judicial decisions, so that there exists a body of principles which apply generally to all types of construction contract. The whole basis of the law of contract is agreement. Specifically, a contract is an agreement bringing with it obligations which are able to be enforced in the courts if this becomes necessary. Parliament has introduced statutes which are often designed to protect relatively weak consumers from business persons having greater bargaining power. Despite this, the courts are still reluctant to set aside an agreement having all of the elements of a contract and, follow their nineteenth-century predecessors. There are very few construction contracts where it is intended that all of the construction work will be undertaken by only one of the parties, the principal contractor. Contracts used in the construction industry for building and civil engineering works normally contain terms restricting or prohibiting assignments or subletting without approval of the employer.
