Overview of Contract Law

Introduction

This first chapter builds the **conceptual framework** on which every other Contract Law chapter depends. You will learn **what a contract is**, the **five essential ingredients** of a valid simple contract (offer and acceptance, consideration, intention, certainty and capacity), the difference between a **simple contract and a deed**, the **four sources** of English contract law (common law, equity, statute and assimilated EU law), the key **classifications** of contracts, and the **five-stage life-cycle** of a contract that organises the whole subject. The chapter ends with the **SQE1 FLK1 assessment format** and the technique for answering scenario-based single-best-answer questions.

Assessment focus

The SQE1 FLK1 assessment specification does **not** test this introductory material directly. Instead, this chapter equips you with the framework needed to answer **every other** Contract Law question: what a contract is, the **six SRA building-blocks** (existence and formation of a contract; contents of a contract; causation and remoteness; vitiating elements; discharge of contract and remedies; and unjust enrichment), how they fit across the **life-cycle** of a contract, and how the **sources** of English contract law interact. FLK1 uses **180 single-best-answer MCQs** across two sittings of **2 hours 33 minutes** each. Contract Law is one of five FLK1 subjects, alongside Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution, Tort, and the Legal System of England and Wales (plus Legal Services). Questions are **scenario-based**, written from the perspective of a solicitor advising a client; you must apply black-letter rules to realistic facts to identify the **single best answer**.

Study tips

1) Memorise the **five essential ingredients** of a simple contract: offer & acceptance, consideration, intention to create legal relations, certainty, and capacity. 2) Master the **simple contract v deed** distinction — a deed needs **no consideration** but must satisfy **s.1 LP(MP)A 1989**; limitation is **6 years** (s.5 LA 1980) for a simple contract but **12 years** (s.8 LA 1980) for a deed. 3) Learn the **four classifications**: bilateral/unilateral, executed/executory, void/voidable/unenforceable, consumer/B2B. 4) Internalise the **five-stage life-cycle** (formation → parties & contents → vitiation → discharge → restitution & remedies); every SQE question maps onto one stage. 5) Always **check the parties' status first** — consumer means **CRA 2015**; business means **UCTA 1977 / SGA 1979 / SGSA 1982**. Getting the statute wrong loses the mark.