ABSTRACT
The chapter gives an overview of selected aspects of the general law of estoppel, those which have proved the more difficult or controversial as modern estoppel was developing, and which are particularly relevant to the introduction of the new principle of contractual estoppel. The chapter refreshes in the mind of the reader certain historical foundations for estoppel, examines the modern concept, incidents, outcomes, and limits of estoppel generally, explores the present state of certain problems of taxonomy and classification, and considers closely the established relationship between contract and estoppel. An in the round view of modern estoppel is presented, with attempts at reconciling disparate and at times disjointed elements into a more or less coherent doctrinal whole. With that background, contractual estoppel is introduced as a distinct category of legal estoppel, founded on contract, one that does not belong to other established categories of estoppel, nor yet is a distortion of any of them.
