The Restatement (Second) of the Law of Contracts is a legal treatise from the second series of the

Restatements of the Law In American jurisprudence, the ''Restatements of the Law'' are a set of treatises on legal subjects that seek to inform judges and lawyers about general principles of common law. There are now four series of ''Restatements'', all published by the ...

, and seeks to inform judges and lawyers about general principles of

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

common law. It is one of the best-recognized and frequently cited legal treatisesAcceptable citation format under the

Bluebook ''The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation'' is a style guide that prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the United States. It is taught and used at a majority of Law school in the United States, law schools in the United S ...

: "Restatement (Second) of Contracts § ___ (Am. L. Inst. 1981)." The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation § 12.8.5 (Columbia Law Review Ass'n et al. eds., 17th ed. 2000) in all of American

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

. Every first-year law student in the United States is exposed to it, and it is a frequently cited

non-binding authority Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of ''stare decisis'' ("to stand by thin ...

in all of U.S.

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

in the areas of contracts and commercial transactions. The

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars limited to 3,000 elected members and established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and i ...

began work on the second edition in 1962 and completed it in 1979; the version in use at present has a copyright year of 1981. For an explanation of the purpose of a restatement of law, see

Restatement of the Law In American jurisprudence, the ''Restatements of the Law'' are a set of treatises on legal subjects that seek to inform judges and lawyers about general principles of common law. There are now four series of ''Restatements'', all published by the ...

Use and commentary

Legal scholars and jurists have commented extensively on the Restatement, both in contrasting it with aspects of the first Restatement, and in evaluating its influence and effectiveness in reaching its stated objectives. It is in this context of ''direct review'' that one can find numerous arguments both favoring and criticizing some aspects of the Restatement as an independent source of legal scholarship. Although several sections of the Restatement contained new rules which sometimes contradicted existing law, courts citing these sections have predominantly adopted the Restatement's view, citing them as a court would cite statute or code.Gregory E. Maggs,
Ipse Dixit: The Restatement (Second) of Contracts and the Modern Development of Contract Law
', 66 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 508 (1998). Far more common, however, is the practice of citing the Restatement to clarify generally accepted doctrine in every major area of contract and commercial law. It is in this context of ''legal research'' that one can find the Restatement used as direct substantiation and

persuasive authority Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of ''stare decisis'' ("to stand by thin ...

, to validate the arguments and interpretations of individual legal practitioners.Restitution in the Second "Restatement of Contracts"Joseph M. Perillo''Columbia Law Review'', Vol. 81, No. 1 (Jan., 1981), pp. 37-51 Contracts: Expanded Application of Promissory Estoppel in Restatement of Contracts Section 90: Hoffman v. Red Owl Stores, Inc. ''Michigan Law Review'', Vol. 65, No. 2 (Dec., 1966), pp. 351-358

Legacy

Although the Restatement of Contracts is still an influential academic work, certain aspects have been superseded in everyday legal practice by the

Uniform Commercial Code The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), first published in 1952, is one of a number of uniform acts that have been established as law with the goal of harmonizing the laws of sales and other commercial transactions across the United States through U ...

. Specifically, the UCC has replaced the Restatement (Second) of Contracts in regard to the sale of goods. The Restatement (Second) of Contracts remains the unofficial authority for aspects of contract law which find their genesis in the common law principles of the United States and, previously, England.

References

{{reflist, 2 United States contract law 1979 in American law Legal treatises

Use and commentary

Legacy

See also

References