What are some of the sources of contract law?

Answer 1

In the United States, contract law derives from two main sources: (1) statutes (2) judicial opinions. The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) governs contracts for the sale of goods, and has been adopted by all 50 U.S. states. This is an example of statutory contract law--the relevant legal rules are found in a statute passed by a legislature, rather than a judicial opinion issued by a court. Another example would be state statutes declaring certain kinds of contracts unenforceable as a matter of public policy (for example: a pre-marital agreement waiving future child support payments). Courts certainly interpret the UCC (and other statutes) in judicial opinions, but the actual underlying legal basis for the decision is the statute itself.

Aside from the UCC, however, most contract law stems from judicial opinions, referred to as the "common law".That is, what constitutes "consideration", "offer" or "acceptance", for example, is typically decided by judges applying precedent cases and general contract principles. There is often no relevant statute. Courts might refer to the Restatement of Contracts as persuasive support for a particular result, but the Restatement is not itself a binding legal authority. Courts will at times adopt certain portions of the Restatement as the law in their jurisdiction, but this is again an example of "common law" judicial law making.

In summary: if you have a contract for the sale of goods, apply the UCC. For all other contracts (such as real estate and services) look to the judicial case law in the jurisdiction, unless there is a specific statute on point.