Overview
- Breaching a valid contract is one of the nine forms of aggressing (a breach of the Legal Principle).
- A contract is an enforceable, genuine agreement between competent adults involving their property. They must be honored; ”a deal is a deal”.
- The essence of an enforceable contract requires a genuine meeting of the minds, which means that all parties to a contract have knowingly, voluntarily, and consensually reached an informed agreement that they each understand and desire after due consideration. This “meeting of the minds” is the contract, while the writing is merely the memorandum of that legitimate agreement.
- A contract can be implied in certain specific circumstances, such as medical services provided in an emergency to an unconscious person, for example.
- Many countries have properly respected contract law for centuries, mainly in keeping with the 3L’s Legal Principle; thus, we do not need to ‘reinvent the wheel’ here.
- Local communities must define some nuanced grey areas relating to contract law.
Wrongful prohibition of valid contracts
- The primary exception to the correct functioning of contract law today is that many peaceful contracts are denied due to the moral preferences of unaffected parties. Examples include:
- So long as no violations of the Legal Principle have occurred, competent adults should be free to contract with their property, even in ways that are unwise, unhealthy, or immoral. We can persuade them with words and our lived example, but they remain free to disagree.
- There is no need for governments to be involved in contract law - arbitrators, collateral, and pre-agreed stipulations all allow for the smooth functioning of private, voluntary agreements. Most contract disputes can be resolved without the need for a court trial.
- The alleged ‘Social Contract’ between nation-states and their citizens does not meet the definition of a valid contract, as there was no proper informed consent or meeting of the minds.