1Practice problems
1.Contract lawMedium
A court will imply a term in fact into a commercial contract only if:
- AIt is necessary for business efficacy or so obvious it goes without saying
- BIt is usual in contracts in other industries
- CIt would be reasonable and fair to both parties, even if it is not necessary
- DIt would benefit the weaker party
2.Contract lawHard
A client repudiates an advertising contract the same day it is made. The agency ignores this, displays the adverts for the full period and sues for the price. In White and Carter v McGregor:
- AThe agency could recover the full price
- BThe agency could only claim damages after mitigating
- CThe agency could recover nothing
- DThe agency had to obtain a court order first
3.Tort lawMedium
An occupier hires a reputable lift company to maintain a lift. The company's negligence causes an accident. Under Haseldine v Daw, the occupier is:
- ALiable, because maintenance is non-delegable
- BLiable only if the lift is new
- CNot liable, if it reasonably chose a competent contractor
- DLiable for any defect on its premises
4.Tort lawHard
Residents complain of noise from a motor sports stadium that had been used for years and had planning permission. In Coventry v Lawrence, the Supreme Court held that:
- ACourts must always grant an injunction where nuisance is proved
- BComing to the nuisance was a complete defence
- CPlanning permission was a complete defence to the nuisance claim
- DPlanning permission was not in itself a defence, and damages instead of an injunction should be considered more flexibly
5.Constitutional lawMedium
In the GCHQ case, the House of Lords held that the exercise of prerogative powers:
- ACan be judicially reviewed, depending on its subject matter
- BIs always fully reviewable, whatever subject matter it concerns
- CCan never be reviewed by the courts
- DCan be reviewed only if Parliament agrees
6.Constitutional lawHard
A woman with a terminal illness asks for a guarantee that her husband will not be prosecuted for helping her die. In Pretty v UK, the European Court of Human Rights held that Article 2:
- ADoes not include a right to die
- BRequires an immunity for her husband
- CRequires states to allow assisted suicide
- DWas not engaged by her case at all
7.Criminal lawMedium
The "thin skull" rule in criminal law means:
- AA frail victim breaks the chain of causation
- BOnly healthy victims are protected
- CThe victim's injuries must be foreseeable in extent
- DThe defendant must take the victim as they find them
8.Criminal lawHard
Conspiracy in English law requires:
- AA written plan
- BAn agreement between two or more people to commit a crime, with intent that it be carried out
- CAt least one of the conspirators to have carried out an overt act towards committing the agreed crime
- DThe crime to be actually committed
9.EU lawMedium
Internationale Handelsgesellschaft (1970) held that the validity of a Community measure:
- ARequires approval by a national referendum
- BCannot be affected by claims that it breaches national constitutional rights
- CDepends on its compatibility with the fundamental rights in each national constitution
- DCan be reviewed by any national court that doubts it
10.EU lawHard
In R v Bouchereau (1977), the Court held that a member state may expel an EU national on public policy grounds only if their conduct represents:
- AAny criminal conviction in the host state
- BA burden on the host state's social assistance system or a risk that the person will become unemployed in future
- CA breach of the host state's immigration rules
- DA genuine and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society
2Solutions
1.Contract law
Answer: A · It is necessary for business efficacy or so obvious it goes without saying
Why this is the answer
Jurisdiction: law of England and Wales. Implication in fact is strict. Marks and Spencer v BNP Paribas confirmed that a term is not implied merely because it would be reasonable.
A · It is necessary for business efficacy or so obvious it goes without saying
2.Contract law
Answer: A · The agency could recover the full price
Why this is the answer
Jurisdiction: law of England and Wales. An innocent party may affirm and perform the contract and claim the price, if it can do so without the other's cooperation. Later cases limit this where it has no legitimate interest in performing.
A · The agency could recover the full price
3.Tort law
Answer: C · Not liable, if it reasonably chose a competent contractor
Why this is the answer
Jurisdiction: law of England and Wales. An occupier who acts reasonably in entrusting technical work to a competent independent contractor is not liable for the contractor's faulty work, especially where it cannot check it.
C · Not liable, if it reasonably chose a competent contractor
4.Tort law
Answer: D · Planning permission was not in itself a defence, and damages instead of an injunction should be considered more flexibly
Why this is the answer
Jurisdiction: law of England and Wales. The court held that coming to the nuisance and planning permission are generally no defence, though permission may be relevant to locality. It also said the old Shelfer approach to damages in lieu of an injunction should not be applied mechanically.
D · Planning permission was not in itself a defence, and damages instead of an injunction should be considered more flexibly
5.Constitutional law
Answer: A · Can be judicially reviewed, depending on its subject matter
Why this is the answer
Jurisdiction: law of England and Wales. The source of a power is not decisive; what matters is whether its subject matter is justiciable. Matters like national security, treaties and defence were treated as unsuitable for review.
A · Can be judicially reviewed, depending on its subject matter
6.Constitutional law
Answer: A · Does not include a right to die
Why this is the answer
Jurisdiction: European Convention on Human Rights. Article 2 cannot be interpreted as giving the opposite right to choose death. The Court also accepted that Article 8 was engaged but that the ban on assisted suicide was justified.
A · Does not include a right to die
7.Criminal law
Answer: D · The defendant must take the victim as they find them
Why this is the answer
Jurisdiction: law of England and Wales. A defendant is liable for the full consequences even if the victim's characteristics (physical or beliefs) made them worse than expected.
D · The defendant must take the victim as they find them
8.Criminal law
Answer: B · An agreement between two or more people to commit a crime, with intent that it be carried out
Why this is the answer
Jurisdiction: law of England and Wales. Under the Criminal Law Act 1977, conspiracy is complete once the agreement is made with the necessary intent, even if no further step is taken.
B · An agreement between two or more people to commit a crime, with intent that it be carried out
9.EU law
Answer: B · Cannot be affected by claims that it breaches national constitutional rights
Why this is the answer
Jurisdiction: EU law. The Court held that EU law prevails even over national constitutional rights, but that respect for fundamental rights forms part of the general principles of EU law that it protects.
B · Cannot be affected by claims that it breaches national constitutional rights
10.EU law
Answer: D · A genuine and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society
Why this is the answer
Jurisdiction: EU law. Bouchereau's test is now reflected in Article 27 of Directive 2004/38: measures must be based exclusively on personal conduct and be proportionate.
D · A genuine and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society