Law (HE): Contract Law

Textbooks. Textbooks explain the fundamentals of the law. Contract Law books are found in the Law Area on the Ground Floor of the Hockney Building. The class number is 346.02.  Recommended textbooks include Contract Law by McKendrick, Law of Contract by Richards (also available as an e-book) and Textbook on Contract Law by Poole.  Click here to access your Reading List.  

Case Books. Case books explain the law through a selection of the key cases of the subject, illustrating legal principles and how decisions are made.  The key casebook for contract law is Poole, Casebook on Contract Law.

Further Reading / Advanced Books. These books provide information at a more advanced level and will be useful as you become familiar with the subject.  Titles include Anson’s Law of Contract and Treitel - the law of contract.  More detailed casebooks include Beale, Bishop and Furmston, Contract – cases and materials and Smith and Thomas : a casebook on contract. 

Reference Books. Reference books cannot be taken out of the Library.  These include statute books which list the key legislation in a subject, and Practitioner texts which provide detailed, authoritative statements of the law for use by professionals. Reference books include Blackstone's statutes on contract, tort & restitution and the key practitioner text Chitty on Contracts.

Case reports. It is very important that you consult the full text of key cases, and don’t just rely on summaries in textbooks.  Law Reports publish the key cases in all aspects of law including Contact Law, in bound volumes arranged by year. Hockney Library holds the All England Law Reports; Weekly Law Reports are held in Lister Repository; and the historical set of reports The English Reports are in the Moot court.  All these, plus the main set of law reports called The Law Reports, and for specialist reports, are available via LexisLibrary or Westlaw.  

Journals and Newspapers. Journals provide commentary on cases, and advanced discussion of legal issues.  They are published weekly, monthly or quarterly, and the majority are now available online. Recommended titles include Cambridge Law Journal, Law Quarterly Review, Modern Law Review and New Law Journal.

Electronic Databases. These provide access to the full text of journal articles, law reports and legislation.  You will be expected to start using these early on, so there are guides and tutorials available on the Law Resources Moodle page.  You should try to become familiar in particular with LexisLibrary andWestlaw UK.