Foundations of Indian Contract Law

Book excerpt: This new volume analyses the central doctrines and concepts of Indian contract law and provides guidance on the interpretation of the Indian Contract Act 1872 by examining its historical, philosophical, and comparative foundations. Featuring contributions from practitioners and academics from around the world, the book follows a methodology carefully calibrated to address the shortcomings in traditional Indian contract law scholarship. The primary presuppositions of this methodology are that: (a) the answers to many difficult questions of Indian contract law can be found in the history of the Contract Act; and (b) while it is difficult to understand the Contract Act other than against the backdrop of the common law, one should not assume that Indian contract law mirrors the common law on all difficult points. Each chapter therefore pays close attention to the legislative history of the relevant provision(s) of the Contract Act. Based on a holistic analysis of the Contract Act's drafting history and its current interpretation, Foundations of Indian Contract Law is a carefully crafted volume providing the input needed to influence the Indian courts' approach to contract law, inform meaningful legislative reform, and, more broadly, catalyse a culture of critical scholarship on Indian private law. Formed of 24 chapters and a conclusion by Professor Hugh Beale (former Commercial Law and Common Law Commissioner at the Law Commission of England and Wales), the volume presents an authoritative exposition of a branch of the law that is of considerable interest and great practical importance for practitioners, scholars, and students interested in Indian contract law.