Chapter 3 Law
Some relationships can be valued in terms of money. This part of private law is called
property law in general. Property law can be divided in
1. Law of obligations (contract and tort)
2. Property law (real property and property rights)
The law of obligations concerns all obligations a person (or company) can have. Obligations
legal bond between parties.
An obligation is a legal relationship between two or more persons on the grounds of which
one party has the obligation to produce / perform and the other party has the right to claim
production/ performance. Obligations can arise out of agreements or out of tort (unlawful
action).
One party has the right to claim delivery and the other party has the right to claim money.
For example, a company may be unable to deliver on time due to unforeseen circumstances.
Other parties suffer a loss and the company is held liable. By concluding the agreement with
a buyer, the company is obliged to deliver. The buyer has the authority to demand delivery.
Contract law
Obligations may arise from agreements (contracts). It is the most important form to realize
one’s objective through private law. When obligations arise from agreements between private
persons and/or companies, we are dealing with contract law.
In Dutch law, freedom of contract is recognized as the (unwritten) basic principle of the law of
contract: a person is free to make contracts when, with whom and with the content of het
choosing. There are limitations on this freedom.
You can’t write in a contract that someone needs to kill someone for you. Therefor it is
important to recognize the real intention of the parties in the three phases of the agreement
process.
The contract is concluded when I offer someone something and they send me an acceptance
and if there are two people I accept one of them.
Advertisement for house is no contract it is an invention for negotiating.
Phase 1: Making the agreement
Agreements between parties are realized through the offer of one party and the acceptance
of that offer by the other party. The will to make an offer must be made public by a
declaration (bekendmaking). For example; in a supermarket an offer can be revoked until the
moment of acceptance but there are exceptions such as a special offer in supermarket
during one week.
The question whether an announcement counts as an offer is important because Dutch law
in principle rules that, once an offer is accepted by the other party, it cannot be retracted. It is
only different when a party explicitly says it is an offer free of obligations; in that case, it can
be retraced if this is done immediately after acceptance. If an offer is made with a time limit it
cannot be retracted.
When an error is made in the offer, the offering party is obliged to honour the offer, when the
accepting party could be assured that the offer was an actual offer that the offering party was
willing to make on sound grounds, the doctrine of reasonable reliance (what a prudent
person would believe).
When an offer is made under the influence of a mental disorder, the offering party is not
bound by the offer. However, the doctrine of reasonable reliance also applies here: when the
accepting party could be assured that the offer came about in a normal manner, not under
the influence of a mental disorder, the offering party is bound by that offer.
Some relationships can be valued in terms of money. This part of private law is called
property law in general. Property law can be divided in
1. Law of obligations (contract and tort)
2. Property law (real property and property rights)
The law of obligations concerns all obligations a person (or company) can have. Obligations
legal bond between parties.
An obligation is a legal relationship between two or more persons on the grounds of which
one party has the obligation to produce / perform and the other party has the right to claim
production/ performance. Obligations can arise out of agreements or out of tort (unlawful
action).
One party has the right to claim delivery and the other party has the right to claim money.
For example, a company may be unable to deliver on time due to unforeseen circumstances.
Other parties suffer a loss and the company is held liable. By concluding the agreement with
a buyer, the company is obliged to deliver. The buyer has the authority to demand delivery.
Contract law
Obligations may arise from agreements (contracts). It is the most important form to realize
one’s objective through private law. When obligations arise from agreements between private
persons and/or companies, we are dealing with contract law.
In Dutch law, freedom of contract is recognized as the (unwritten) basic principle of the law of
contract: a person is free to make contracts when, with whom and with the content of het
choosing. There are limitations on this freedom.
You can’t write in a contract that someone needs to kill someone for you. Therefor it is
important to recognize the real intention of the parties in the three phases of the agreement
process.
The contract is concluded when I offer someone something and they send me an acceptance
and if there are two people I accept one of them.
Advertisement for house is no contract it is an invention for negotiating.
Phase 1: Making the agreement
Agreements between parties are realized through the offer of one party and the acceptance
of that offer by the other party. The will to make an offer must be made public by a
declaration (bekendmaking). For example; in a supermarket an offer can be revoked until the
moment of acceptance but there are exceptions such as a special offer in supermarket
during one week.
The question whether an announcement counts as an offer is important because Dutch law
in principle rules that, once an offer is accepted by the other party, it cannot be retracted. It is
only different when a party explicitly says it is an offer free of obligations; in that case, it can
be retraced if this is done immediately after acceptance. If an offer is made with a time limit it
cannot be retracted.
When an error is made in the offer, the offering party is obliged to honour the offer, when the
accepting party could be assured that the offer was an actual offer that the offering party was
willing to make on sound grounds, the doctrine of reasonable reliance (what a prudent
person would believe).
When an offer is made under the influence of a mental disorder, the offering party is not
bound by the offer. However, the doctrine of reasonable reliance also applies here: when the
accepting party could be assured that the offer came about in a normal manner, not under
the influence of a mental disorder, the offering party is bound by that offer.
