Report 252: Review of Contract: Formation, Interpretation, Remedies for Breach, and Penalty Clauses

The Scottish Law Commission published a comprehensive report on contract law in Scotland which makes many recommendations for improvement, to ensure that contract law is clear, accessible and fit for the modern age. The Report makes the following main recommendations: for a new statutory statement setting out the rules on formation of contract; for the abolition of the “postal acceptance rule” (an old rule that a contract is formed when an acceptance of an offer is put in the post, as opposed to received); and for remedies for breach of contract to be reshaped, with the aim of encouraging people to sort out disputes themselves, rather than ending up in court or having to terminate their contract altogether.