Contract law |
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Formation |
Defences |
Interpretation |
Dispute resolution |
Rights of third parties |
Breach of contract |
Remedies |
Quasi-contractual obligations |
Duties of parties |
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Related areas of law |
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Other law areas |
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The title-transfer theory of contract (TTToC) is a legal interpretation of contracts developed by economist Murray Rothbard and jurist Williamson Evers. The theory interprets all contractual obligations in terms of property rights, [1] [2] viewing a contract as a bundle of title transfers. According to Randy Barnett, the TTToC stands in opposition to most mainstream contract theories which view contractual obligations as the result of a binding promise. [3] [4] [ page needed ] Proponents of the approach often claim it is superior on grounds of both consistency and ethical considerations. The TTToC is often supported by libertarians. [5]
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The TTToC considers a contract to be a transfer of property titles between parties to the contract. Title transfers can be conditional, implying a title transfer is to take effect only if a specified condition is met, as well as future oriented implying a title transfer is to take effect at a specified future point in time. For example, in a loan contract the lender transfers title to the principal to the borrower, and the borrower transfers to the lender a future title to the amount of the principal plus the interest. When the loan matures the transfer of title from borrower to lender takes effect, and the lender is entitled to obtain the money, which now belongs to him. It is important to mention the lender is entitled to obtain the money only when that money exists and is in the possession of the borrower. Another example is a service provision contract in which the service consumer transfers a future title of money to a service provider on the condition that a certain act of service is performed. If the service is not provided the condition of the transfer is not met and the conditional title transfer of money does not take effect. Contracts can be agreed upon either by explicit verbal agreement (as is the case with formal written contracts) or by implicit representation of agreement (as is the case when a restaurant order is placed by a passerby).
Under the TTToC breach of contract is only what can be interpreted as an act of theft. [6] [2] For example, if a specified condition for a conditional title transfer from party A to party B is not met, yet party B still captures possession of the property they are not entitled to, they have committed theft, whether the possession was taken by force, or by false representation of fact creating the impression the transfer conditions has been met. [2]
If a service provider has failed to perform an act of service, he has not committed theft. In such cases provisions should be made in advance for the non-breaching party to be entitled to compensation, in the condition of a failure to provide the agreed upon service. [2]
Since the TTToC is based on property rights, it is compatible with the non-aggression principle. According to the proponents of the theory, the TTToC ensures ownership of every owned good is well defined at any point in time. Contracts regarding unalienable property titles are not binding. Some argue that since ownership of one's body is unalienable, voluntary slavery contracts are not binding under the TTToC. [2] Promises that are not made with the intention of being legally binding are also non-enforceable under the TTToC. [2]
Anarcho-capitalism is an anti-statist, libertarian political philosophy and economic theory that seeks to abolish centralized states in favor of stateless societies with systems of private property enforced by private agencies, the non-aggression principle, free markets and self-ownership, which extends the concept to include control of private property as part of the self. In the absence of statute, anarcho-capitalists hold that society tends to contractually self-regulate and civilize through participation in the free market, which they describe as a voluntary society involving the voluntary exchange of goods and services. In a theoretical anarcho-capitalist society, the system of private property would still exist and be enforced by private defense agencies and/or insurance companies selected by customers, which would operate competitively in a market and fulfill the roles of courts and the police.
Murray Newton Rothbard was an American economist of the Austrian School, economic historian, political theorist, and activist. Rothbard was a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian movement, particularly its right-wing strands, and was a founder and leading theoretician of anarcho-capitalism. He wrote over twenty books on political theory, history, economics, and other subjects.
Libertarians have differing opinions on the validity of intellectual property.
Hans-Hermann Hoppe is a German-American academic associated with Austrian School economics, anarcho-capitalism, right-wing libertarianism, and opposition to democracy. He is professor emeritus of economics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), senior fellow of the Mises Institute think tank, and the founder and president of the Property and Freedom Society.
A mortgage is a legal instrument of the common law which is used to create a security interest in real property held by a lender as a security for a debt, usually a mortgage loan. Hypothec is the corresponding term in civil law jurisdictions, albeit with a wider sense, as it also covers non-possessory lien.
Libertarian theories of law build upon classical liberal and individualist doctrines.
Randy Evan Barnett is an American legal scholar. He serves as the Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University, where he teaches constitutional law and contracts, and is the director of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution.
Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights.
Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan.
A bill of sale is a document that transfers ownership of goods from one person to another. It is used in situations where the former owner transfers possession of the goods to a new owner. Bills of sale may be used in a wide variety of transactions: to sell goods, exchange, give, or mortgage objects. They can be used only to transfer ownership of goods that people already own or to transfer ownership of moveable tangible goods and only by individuals and unincorporated businesses.
The non-aggression principle (NAP), also known as the non-aggression axiom, deals with the initiation or threatening of force against an individual, their property, or agreements (contracts) where the aggressor is liable and the individual is a counterparty. Interpretations of the NAP vary, particularly concerning issues like intellectual property, force, and abortion.
Norman Stephan Kinsella is an American intellectual property lawyer, author, and deontological anarcho-capitalist. His legal works have been published by Oxford University Press, Oceana Publications, Mises Institute, Quid Pro Books and others.
In finance, a security interest is a legal right granted by a debtor to a creditor over the debtor's property which enables the creditor to have recourse to the property if the debtor defaults in making payment or otherwise performing the secured obligations. One of the most common examples of a security interest is a mortgage: a person borrows money from the bank to buy a house, and they grant a mortgage over the house so that if they default in repaying the loan, the bank can sell the house and apply the proceeds to the outstanding loan.
Right-libertarianism, also known as libertarian capitalism or right-wing libertarianism, is a libertarian political philosophy that supports capitalist property rights and defends market distribution of natural resources and private property. The term right-libertarianism is used to distinguish this class of views on the nature of property and capital from left-libertarianism, a type of libertarianism that combines self-ownership with an egalitarian approach to natural resources. In contrast to socialist libertarianism, right-libertarianism supports free-market capitalism. Like most forms of libertarianism, it supports civil liberties, especially natural law, negative rights, the non-aggression principle, and a major reversal of the modern welfare state.
Libertarianism is variously defined by sources as there is no general consensus among scholars on the definition nor on how one should use the term as a historical category. Scholars generally agree that libertarianism refers to the group of political philosophies which emphasize freedom, individual liberty and voluntary association. Libertarians generally advocate a society with little or no government power.
Walter Edward Block is an American Austrian School economist and anarcho-capitalist theorist. He currently holds the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at the School of Business at Loyola University New Orleans and is a senior fellow of the non-profit think-tank Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama.
Libertarian Christianity is a designation that encompasses a variety of people, ideologies, philosophies, etc., the commonality of which is that each of these claims some commitment to both libertarianism and Christianity. Libertarianism and Christianity, as societal entities, are each composed of a variety of factions, each of which claims some distinguishing features that make such faction more libertarian, or more Christian, than other factions operating under the same libertarian or Christian banner. Libertarian Christians are yet another faction within each of these two internally diverse superstructures. What makes libertarian Christianity unique is that people who claim to be libertarian Christians are people who either implicitly or explicitly claim to have found some kind of ideological bridge that makes libertarianism and Christianity compatible. Whether people who claim to be libertarian Christians have discovered an ideological bridge that is genuinely faithful to the fundamental tenets of both libertarianism and Christianity is inevitably a question whose answer determines whether the libertarian Christian's bridge is ideologically sound or is based on pure presumption and wishful thinking.
The position that taxation is theft, and therefore immoral, is found in a number of political philosophies considered radical. It marks a significant departure from conservatism and classical liberalism. This position is often held by anarcho-capitalists, objectivists, most minarchists, anarchists, right-wing libertarians, and voluntaryists.
Voluntary slavery, in theory, is the condition of slavery entered into at a point of voluntary consent. It is distinguished from involuntary slavery where an individual is forced to a period of servitude usually as punishment for a crime.
Financial law is the law and regulation of the commercial banking, capital markets, insurance, derivatives and investment management sectors. Understanding financial law is crucial to appreciating the creation and formation of banking and financial regulation, as well as the legal framework for finance generally. Financial law forms a substantial portion of commercial law, and notably a substantial proportion of the global economy, and legal billables are dependent on sound and clear legal policy pertaining to financial transactions. Therefore financial law as the law for financial industries involves public and private law matters. Understanding the legal implications of transactions and structures such as an indemnity, or overdraft is crucial to appreciating their effect in financial transactions. This is the core of financial law. Thus, financial law draws a narrower distinction than commercial or corporate law by focusing primarily on financial transactions, the financial market, and its participants; for example, the sale of goods may be part of commercial law but is not financial law. Financial law may be understood as being formed of three overarching methods, or pillars of law formation and categorised into five transaction silos which form the various financial positions prevalent in finance.
Their error is a failure to realize that the right to contract is strictly derivable from the right of private property
Ultimately, contracts are enforced simply by recognizing that the transferee, instead of the previous owner, is the current owner of the property. If the previous owner refuses to turn over the property transferred, he is committing an act of aggression (trespass, use of the property of another without permission) against which force may legitimately be used.