Obligations

Obligations: Law and Language is the first work of its kind to examine in depth the fundamental language used by courts, legislators, and academic commentators when describing the nature of obligations law. A comparative perspective is taken, examining the law of England, Scotland, the United States, Canada, and Australia, and an in-depth analysis is provided of the major legal commentaries, statutes, and case law from each jurisdiction. In exploring such fundamental words as obligation, liability, debt, conditional, unilateral, mutual, and gratuitous, the author examines the often confusing and contradictory ways in which basic structural language has been used, and brings clarity to a core area of legal theory and practice.

• Examines the meaning of the fundamental language used to describe legal obligations, appealing to those interested in the way the law uses words to give shape and definition to obligations law
• Explores the language of obligations from both a theoretical and practical perspective, and is comprehensive in the source material it examines: statutes, case law and academic commentary
• A comparison of legal systems in different countries will be of use to readers all over the world