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Droit de contrats:

Le droit des contrats s'inscrit dans le droit des obligations . A la différencedu droit de la responsabilité délictuelle il se rapporte aux obligations qui ont étécréées par la volonté des parties au rapport d'obligation.

CONTRATS

DROIT DESCONTRATS

OBLIGATIONS

CONTRACTUELLES

RESPONSABILITECONTRACTUELLE

GROUPES DECONTRATS

SOLIDARISMECONTRACTUEL

OBLIGATIONS ETVOLONTE

DROIT ETJUDICIARISATION DEL'ECONOMIE

DROIT COMMUN DES CONTRATS

Le droit commun des contrats est défini par les règles du CodeCivil concernant les contrats. Ces règles définissent les devoirs descontractants et sont issues du principe moral du respect de la paroledonné, qui donnera naissance au seizième siècle à la règle de la forceobligatoire des conventions. La source autonome de l'obligation devientla volonté, indépendamment du formalisme de l'expression duconsentement. Au caractère formel des contrats se substitue le principedu consensualisme fondé sur la confiance du bénéficiaire de l'obligationque celle-ci sera exécutée par le débiteur de l'obligation. Le contratdonne ainsi naissance au sens littéral du terme aux obligations de"bonne foi ".

Le principe de la liberté contractuelle, comme l'autonomie contractuelle

et l'immutabilité des conventions, constituent des principesfondamentaux qui relèvent de la loi mais le Conseil Constitutionnelrefuse une valeur constitutionnelle au principe de la libertécontractuelle (Conseil Constitutionnel, 3 août 1994, JCP 1995. II. 22404).

Les obligations nées du contrat

Le contrat donne naissance à des obligations de faire ou de ne pasfaire, de donner ou de livrer la chose.

Les diverses obligations générales qui naissent du contrat sont prévues

par les articles 1136 à 1164 du Code civil. A ces obligations s'ajoutentles engagements particuliers qui sont prévus par le contrat.

Les contrats spéciaux

Le Code Civil définit aussi les règles qui s'appliquent aux contratsnommés dans le cadre des contrats spéciaux

Les contrats conclus entre commerçants sont par ailleurs soumis aux

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règles du Code de Commerce. Certains contrats créés par la pratiquesont essentiellement de nature commerciale, tels l' affacturage.

L'évolution du droit des contrats

Le droit des contrats s'était développé dans le cadre dé développementde l'autonomie de la volonté individuelle qui s'affranchissait desbarrières de l'Ancien droit dues à l'organisation religieuse, sociale etpolitique de l'Ancien Droit et des règles corporatistes.

Avec la révolution industrielle le droit des contrats s'est adapté àl'évolution économique . Le développement des phénomènes collectifs etle déséquilibre économique entre les cocontractants ont entrainé ledéveloppement d'une jurisprudence de protection . La doctrine, sousl'impulsion de Saleilles regroupe ces règles dans le cadre de la notionde contrat d'adhésion .

Contrats et consommation

Dans la mesure où la volonté de l'individu n'est que formel à l'exceptiond'une intervention comme condition de la relation, les tribunauxs'efforcent d'opérer un contrôle du contenu contractuel , celui-cirésultant en fait de la volonté unilatérale du stipulant, pour en écarterles clauses abusivement onéreuses. Le code civil s'inscrivait dans unephilosophie de libéralisme où la liberté individuelle légitimait l'obligationconsentie. L'altération de la volonté individuelle dans le cadre descontrats de guichet ou des conditions générales imposées remettait encause pour les juges la valeur d'un engagement onéreux etdéséquilibré.

Cette tendance sera à l'origine du développement du droit de laconsommation, maintenant codifié dans le cadre d'un c ode de laconsommation , et en particulier de la réglementation nationale eteuropéenne des clauses abusives et qui amène à une série de règles deprotection dans les contrats .

Contrats d'adhésion et contrats négociés

Le droit des contrats se développe en domaine du fait de la qualificationcontractuelle de relations économiques entre les opérateurséconomiques et leurs clients et usagers. mais avec un affaiblissement

des règles contractuelles. Les règles du droit commun des contratsdans ces contrats d'adhésion sont en effet complétées ou modifiées defaçon impérative par le développement de la réglementation, dontl'essor correspond principalement à ces relations collectives. On assisteà une renaissance du formalisme, censé protéger le consentement , età une remise en cause de l'autonomie contractuelle.

C'est ainsi que les contrats de masse, tels que l' assurance ou letransport, font l'objet d'une réglementation qui s'inscrit dans la

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réglementation générale des activités concernées. L'interventionnismelégislatif et jurisprudentiel ont fortement réduit le domaine effectif del'autonomie de la volonté dans les contrats d'adhésion.

Du dirigisme au libéralisme contractuel

Le retour au libéralisme redonne vigueur au droit contractuel. Ce quiest qualifié par une partie de la doctrine de solidarisme contractuel estsujet à une certaine révision des instruments de l'équilibre contractuel.

Code civilTitre III Des contrats ou des obligations conventionnelles en général

RESPONSABILITE CONTRACTUELLE

DROIT COMMERCIAL DES CONTRATS

Dans l'analyse des règles applicables aux contrats, il convient desouligner l'impact des règles législatives qui s'appliquentaux conventions réglementées ou qui limitent les possibilitésde cumul d'un contrat de salarié et d'un mandat social.

DROIT DE LA CONCURRENCE ET CONTRATS

Le droit de la concurrence interdit les conventions qui sont qualifiéesd 'ententes et par ailleurs restreint les conventions qui sontsusceptibles de s'inscrire dans le contrôle des concentrations .

contrats en cours

DROIT DU REDRESSEMENT JUDICIAIRE ET CONTRATS

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Le droit des procédures collectives affecte le régime des contrats encours.

DROIT DE LACONSOMMATION

Contrats de

consommation

Contrats etconsommateurs

DROIT DE LA CONSOMMATION ET CONTRATS

Le droit de la consommation est venu affaiblir l'importance du droitcommun des contrats lorsque l'une des parties est unconsommateur . Depuis la loi de 1978 sur la protection desconsommateurs se sont développées des règles qui sont maintenantcodifiées dans le Code de la Consommation.

Il déroge aux principes de formation des contrats en prévoyant desdélais de réflexion et un droit de repentir, il impose des obligations

d'information et met en oeuvre un contrôle du contenu par le biaisdes règles applicables aux clause abusives ou en incluant dans lecontrat une obligation générale de sécurité .

On peut cependant rappeler qu'il s'agit là d'une concrétisation derègles prétoriennes développées par la jurisprudence relatives àla protection dans les contrats mais dont la fixation dans le cadrede règles différentiées entre les consommateurs et lesprofessionnels crée une distorsion économique suivant les modalitésde la chaine contractuelle.

DROIT DESCONTRATS ETDROIT SOCIAL

DROIT SOCIAL DES CONTRATS

Le développement du droit social inscrit la relation de travail dansun cadre dont on a souligné qu'il était à mi-chemin entre le contratet l'institution.

La réglementation du contrat de travail est en fait prédominante,et la jurisprudence a tendance a vouloir écarter le droit commun descontrats en ce qui concerne la rupture au profit de la procédure delicenciement .

En revanche les règles de droit commun des contrats concernantles vices du consentement ont plutôt tendance à se développer

DROIT PUBLIC DES CONTRATS

Les contrats en droit administratif sont soumis aux règles de droit

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public concernant les contrats administratifs mais de nombreusesrègles de droit commun des contrats sont applicables.

DROIT EUROPEEN DES CONTRATS

PRINCIPES EUROPÉENS DES CONTRATS

DROIT CIVIL DU QUEBEC

CONTRAT

DROIT SUISSE

OBLIGATIONS_RESULTANT_D'UN_CONTRAT

DROIT BELGE

CONTRATS OU OBLIGATIONS CONVENTIONNELLES EN GENERAL

DROIT MAROCAIN

California Contract Law

• Contract Lawo Contract Components

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OfferAcceptanceConsideration

o Defenses to ContractLegality of the ContractCapacity of the PartiesMistake, Duress, and FraudUnconscionabilityStatute of FraudsParol Evidence Rule

o Contract Terminationo Damages

Money DamagesSpecific Performance

Liquidated DamagesRescission

Contract Law

A contract is simply a legally binding agreement between parties to do or not dosomething. Consumers enter into contracts for many reasons. An agreement to

buy a car or buy a home typically involves a contract. If one hires a service tomaintain his or her lawn, a contract is created. There are several factors to

consider to determine whether a contract has been made. Once a contract has been created, it must be determined if there are any issues that call into questionthe contract's validity. Finally, if there has been a breach of the contract, there is aquestion of whether a party has incurred damages.

This chapter summarizes the elements of a contract, factors that may affect thevalidity of a contract, and damages if a contract is breached. One should alwaysread and understand a document before agreeing to be held to its contents. Beforeone enters into a contract with major implications, he or she should consult anattorney experienced in the subject matter of the contract.

Contract Components

There are three elements that must be present for a contract to exist: an offer, anacceptance, and consideration.

Offer

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The first step to creating a contract is an offer. An offer is a written or spokenstatement by a party of his or her intention to be held to a commitment upon theacceptance of the offer. There are a number of factors to look at to determinewhether a statement constitutes an offer.

• Is the person making the offer serious? A person who jokingly states that he will sell his or her new house for$100 is not making an offer.

• Does the statement show a willingness of the party to beheld to its contents? A person requesting a price quote oropening negotiations is not making an offer.Advertisements usually are seen as invitations to offers.

• Does the statement contain definite terms regarding thesubject matter? Is the subject matter identified, are theparties identified, is the price set, are quantitiesdetermined, and is time for performance stated? Thereshould be enough information contained in the statementthat, if needed, a court would be able to enforce thecontract or determine the damages.

Acceptance

In order for an acceptance of an offer to be valid, the acceptance must be madewhile the offer is still open. In some situations, the person making the offer givesa definite time frame so the offer ends when the time has elapsed: "I will sell youmy car for $200 but you must decide whether to buy it within two days." Other ways an offer may end include: the person making the offer withdraws the offer,the person who receives the offer rejects it, a reasonable amount of time passesafter the offer is made, or the subject matter of the offer is destroyed beforeacceptance.

If a person changes the conditions of the offer in responding, the offer is rejectedand a counteroffer is made as in "I will buy your car, but I will pay only $150 for it." In this scenario, the person who made the original offer responds to the newoffer by accepting it, rejecting it, or proposing yet another offer.

There are two ways a person accepts an offer: by promising to do or not dosomething, or by performing the desired act. In the first type, a person respondsto an offer to sell a car for $150 by promising to pay $150 for the car. This iscalled a bilateral contract. In the second type of acceptance, a homeowner

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offers a neighbor $10 to cut his or her grass and the neighbor responds by cuttingthe grass; the neighbor accepts the offer simply by performing the act requested.This is called a unilateral contract.

Consideration

Consideration is a legal concept meaning something of value that is given inexchange for a performance or a promise to perform. Consideration can bemoney, goods, a promise to do something there is no legal obligation to do, or a

promise to not do something there is a legal right to do. Promises to exchangemoney, goods, or services are forms of consideration. All parties in an agreementmust give consideration in order to create a contract; it is consideration thatdistinguishes contracts from gifts. Courts typically do not look at the adequacy of consideration unless there is evidence of some type of wrongdoing by the party

benefiting most from the contract.

Defenses to Contract

Once it is determined that there is a contract, it must be determined whether thereare any defenses that call into question the validity of the contract. There aresome defenses that make a contract unenforceable (void) and other defenses thatgive the parties the option to enforce the contract (voidable).

Legality of the Contract

Although two persons may exchange an offer, an acceptance, and consideration,if the subject matter of the contract is illegal, a valid, enforceable contract doesnot exist. For example, if a person offers to pay another person money for illegaldrugs, and an acceptance is made by a promise to deliver the illegal drugs this isnevertheless a void contract.

Capacity of the Parties

In order to be bound to a contract, the parties must be competent to enter intosuch a legal arrangement. Underage persons, persons who are mentally ill, andintoxicated persons are usually not held to the contracts they enter. However, aminor may have the option of enforcing a contract.

Mistake, Duress, and Fraud

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A mistakeby both parties to a contract on an important issue makes the contractunenforceable. However, a mistake by only one party does not necessarily makethe contract void.

Duress is the use of physical force or mental pressure by one party to make theother party agree to the contract. The use of duress makes the contract voidable

by the party put under duress.

Fraud is the intentional misrepresentation of an important issue of the contract.The presence of fraud in a contractual proceeding makes the contract voidable bythe party upon whom the fraud was perpetrated.

Unconscionability

A contract may be unenforceable if it is found by a court to be flagrantly unfair.

This defense is usually found in consumer cases, in which a person buys an itemunder terms so grossly unfair to the customer that the court refuses to enforce thecontract.

Statute of Frauds

In many instances, contracts do not have to be in writing to be legally binding.However, a law known as the "statute of frauds" requires that some contractsmust be written to be valid. Contracts involving the sale of real estate, contractsconcerning the sale of goods worth more than $500, contracts that cannot be

performed within one year, contracts to pay someone else's debts, leases for morethan one year, and contracts for marriage must be in writing.

Parol Evidence Rule

Although it is not a defense to a contract, the parol evidence rule may affect thecontents of a contract and how a contract is enforced. The parol evidence ruleapplies once parties have come to a final, written contract. Once there is a final,written contract between the parties, the parol evidence rule forbids theintroduction in a court proceeding of any previous agreements between the

parties on the subject matter of the contract. The parol evidence rule permits the judge or jury in a contract dispute to only look at the written contract and not atany previous discussions or agreements between the parties. The impact of the

parol evidence rule is that all factors that are important to the contract and have been decided by the parties should be stated in the final, written contract. The parol evidence rule does not forbid the introduction of subsequent agreements between the parties.

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Contract Termination

Once there is a valid contract between parties, it can end in several ways. Acontract may have a limited time span and finish at the end of the stated time. If a

person is hired to work for two weeks, the contract concludes at the end of twoweeks. In many instances in which there is a specific time frame stated in thecontract, parties to the contract may have the option to extend the contract for alonger period of time. Contracts also may be project-specific, not time-specific.Goods or services may be contracted for a project and upon the completion of the

project, the contract ends. Parties to a contract may mutually agree to rescind thecontract, in which case the parties may agree on the duties and responsibilities of each party after the rescission.

A contract also may end because of a breach. A breach occurs when a persondoes not fulfill his or her responsibilities as promised in the contract. A breachmay be minor or major. A minor breach is one that affects small, minor details of the agreement and may not affect the outcome of the contract. A major breach isone that affects the subject matter of the contract and very likely will affect theoutcome of the contract. This is also known as a "breach of a material issue."When there has been a breach in a contract, the question of damages is raised.

Damages

The damages due to a party when there is a contract breach depend on many

factors, including which party breaches, what damages were incurred, what thecontract states with regard to damages, whether the breach material, and thesubject matter of the contract. When a person is harmed by a contract breach,courts usually award only foreseeable damages. Foreseeable damages are thosedamages that the parties anticipated or should have anticipated at the time thecontract was formed.

Money Damages

In most cases in which an injury results from a contract breach, the injured party

receives money damages. The court places the person in the position he or shewould have been in if the contract had been performed. For example, if ahomeowner contracts with a person to paint a house, the painter might stop in themiddle of the job and refuse to finish painting. If the homeowner finds another

painter to finish the job at an additional cost of $150, the damages are $150.Although one basically is entitled to the money difference between what was

promised and what it costs to complete the promise, the injured party mustmitigate the damages. Mitigation means the injured party takes reasonable steps

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to limit the extent of the injury and finish the job. In the previous example, thehomeowner could not hire a famous painter from Italy to finish painting thehouse and expect the first painter to pay for the extra expense of plane fare, fees,room, and board.

Specific Performance

There are some situations in which money damages are inadequate. Typically, ina contract involving the sale of land, awarding money damages for a breach doesnot put the nonbreaching party in the same position he or she would have been inif the contract were fulfilled. Because real estate is unique, one cannot simply goout and buy property that is the same as the subject of the original contract. In acase such as this, the court may order the breaching party to perform the dutiesrequired by the contract. This remedy is called specific performance. Courts onlyorder specific performance in rare cases in which the subject matter of thecontract is unique, and it is difficult to put a monetary amount on the damageincurred as a result of the breach. Specific performance is not awarded in

personal service contracts. In the previous example, the court would not order theoriginal painter to complete the job.

Liquidated Damages

In an attempt to set a monetary damage amount in a case in which it may bedifficult to do so, the parties may include a contract provision that specifies theamount of damages in event of a breach. Such predetermined damages are calledliquidated damages. An example is when a person puts down earnest money for ahouse and later changes his or her mind. In a real estate contract with a liquidateddamage provision, the buyer may forfeit the earnest money to the seller as adamage award.

Rescission

In most contract disputes, a court puts the nonbreaching party in the position heor she would have been in if the contract had not been breached. However, thereare times when the court may place the party in the position he or she was in

before the contract was executed. This remedy is known as rescission. In cases inwhich there was a mutual mistake regarding the subject matter of the contract,the parties may be returned to their positions before the contract. If the partieshave exchanged goods or money, those items are returned. This remedy also may

be selected in cases in which one party intentionally misrepresents a materialfact.

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