Hannes Unberath

Recently the contract section of the German Civil Code was amended after one hundred years of un-altered existence. The German Law of Contract, radically recast, enlarged, and re-written since its first edition, now details and explains for the first time these changes for the benefit of Anglophone lawyers. One hundred and twenty translated contract decisions also make this work a unique source-book for students, academics, and practitioners. Along with its companion volume, The German Law of Torts, the two volumes provide one of the fullest accounts of the German Law of Obligations available in the English language. Through its method of presentation of German law, the book represents an original contribution to the art of comparison. An additional feature of the Contract volume is the way in which it reveals the growing impact which European Directives are having upon the traditional, liberal, contract model, thereby bringing German and English law closer to each other, especially in the area of consumer protection.

Sometimes a breach of contract causes loss to a third party. This book takes a comparative approach to the question when the third party can recover that loss directly,and when the promisee can recover it. The second issue has arisen in carriage of goods, bailment, insurance and agency, and is becoming increasingly significant in construction law, as the recent decision in Alfred McAlpine Construction Ltd v. Panatown Ltd shows. The principal aim is to clarify whether and when a promisee is allowed to recover damages on behalf of a third party. The book also examines the impact of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 and recent judicial decisions seeking to increase the protection of the interest in the performance of the contract. From the Foreword by Lord Goff of Chieveley: "For those lawyers who, in their teaching of contract law or of the law of damages, or in their work as practising lawyers, have to consider problems arising in this difficult field, this book will provide a context which is both stimulating and illuminating."