ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about the legal aspects of contracts between individuals, or companies as individuals, in the context of English Civil Law. The English legal system, in order to be consistent, is based on the principle that a decision made by a senior court is binding on a more junior court in subsequent cases, where the facts are similar. This is known as judicial precedent, or more simply, as precedent. The law developed in this manner is often termed Common Law. Other sources of law are: legislation, regulations and directives of the European Union. The chapter explores the basic issues that a project manager or buyer must know if they are buying goods and services. The intention is to provide sufficient understanding of the subject to enable the project manager and buyer to carry out their normal business. Smart project managers should not try to be clever with contracts. They should be clever at making commercial and risk decisions.
