How The Black Death Influenced Life - 1399 Words

Explain how the Black Death influenced life in Europe The Black Death had a significant negative effect on both the economy of Europe and the Catholic Church during and after it s prime, proving to ruin the lives of many both directly and indirectly subject to the plague. However, it can be argued that the Black Death prompted a restructure in feudalism, increasing equality in society. The Bubonic Plague became prominent in 1347 AD, tearing through the lives of many throughout Europe. A major financial shift in the fourteenth century saw millions living in poverty. The Catholic Church was shunned because it had no power over the plague, and therefore lost much of its influence on society. However, lower class citizens were able to stand†¦show more content†¦Consequently prices rose dramatically, stabilising for a long period of very high rates. Braginsky highlights the difficulty for peasants and land owners alike during the time of the Bubonic Plague. It can be observed that there was strife in the European community, having t o deal with inflation of food prices, causing victims of the plague to often not be well nourished, leading to more deaths. Henry Knighton, an English monk, once wrote that â€Å"all essentials are so expensive that something which had previously cost one quid, was now worth four or five quid†. It is obvious that many were negatively effected by this inflation, which was caused primarily because of the decrease in the population due to the Black Death. Another reason for the worsening of Europe s economy was that the trade business was hit hard and those dependant on the trade business lost substantial amounts of money. As it came to the realisation that trading with people from plague ravaged areas transported the disease, no one wanted to continue trading. It was also because of the major decrease in population that trade became less prominent. This is as a result of the people alive having to work in their own area (often in agriculture) to support themselves. A notary from Piacenza, Gabriele de Mussi gave a vivid account of the spreading of the plague.

Accounting Theory and Analysis - Essay Example

Essays on Accounting Theory and Analysis - Essay Essay CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CORPORATE FAILURE Introduction Corporate Failure Corporate Governance is a system through which a company is directed and controlled (Tricker and Tricker 2002). It provides guidelines through which an entity can achieve its objective and avoid corporate failure. Normally, all corporate governance codes provide guidelines in many areas such as internal controls, constitution of board, and performance management etc (Fernando 2009). There is no universal definition available for corporate failure, but generally it refers to a situation where an entity ceases to carry its business due to a heavy loss or bankruptcy and etc. filing for bankruptcy, delisting from stock exchange, ceasing to trade for any reason or entering into receivership can be termed as corporate failure (Patrick 2011). Corporate governance guidelines are designed by the experts keeping in mind the causes of corporate failure incidents happened in past so these guidelines would surely be helpful to companies in avoiding future collapses. Guards against Corporate Failure Enhancement of Independence of External Auditors and Partner’s Rotation Corporate Governance requires board of director to take all necessary steps to enhance the independence of the external auditors for the fair and unbiased audit of the financial statements. If the independence is threatened due to any reason than the auditor may fail to provide true and fair view of the financial position of the company (Plessis† 2011). Enron was one of the biggest companies listed in US stock exchange, collapsed in October 2001, due to the fact that the auditor was forced not to report the financial losses in their reports. Arthur Andersen was the auditor of Enron whose independence was threatened due to the fact that a large portion of their revenue was being generated from Enron. In addition to this, Corporate Governance codes require the rotation of the audit partner after certain period of time. In case of Enron the audit partner was not rotated and the result of departure from these guidelines was $20 billion loss to its shareholders due to the fall in Enron share prices from $90 per share to $1 per share, further Arthur Andersen was also collapsed due to this famous scandal (Theodore 2002). Constitution of the Board Corporate Governance code requires the companies to include both executive and non executive directors (NEDs) (Jill 2004). According Australian code of corporate governance the board should be constituted with both executive and non-executive directors. NEDs does not take part in the affair of the company, but they critically analyze the decision made by the executive directors and bring their expertise for the success of the business. In case of non presence of NEDs in the board executive director may take poor strategic decisions. According to Hamilton poor decision making is one of the reason for the corporate failure of the companies in past which can be countered with the inclusion of the Non executive directors in the board. Separation of CEO and Chairman of the Company One of the main reasons for the corporate failure is the use of excessive powers by the executives. In many companies, one person holds both the designation of CEO and Chairman having supreme decision making authority. Due to the seriousness of this fact, corporate governance codes requires chairman and CEO to be different person so that they can be hold responsible for their decisions (Gà ¼ler 1996). For example, if the CEO takes highly risky decision chairman of the board can resist him to risk company’s resources. Acting upon the guideline will surely bring the chances of corporate failure to a low level. Evaluation of Board’s Performance Corporate Governance code requires the company to evaluate the performance of the board after a reasonable time period. Normally, NEDs are responsible to judge the performance of the executive directors (Clarke 2007). It is a good provision of the corporate governance codes and because of it executive director will take careful decision in the best interest of the company. In the absence of this provision it the board of director may take risky decision in order to obtain short term benefits which main ultimately result in loss to shareholders. Agency Theory and Communication with Shareholders Agency theory in corporate governance stresses on the need of two sided control that is; the manger and the owners. This theory assumes that there will be some sort of mistrust between these two groups. In addition to this managers of the business are under the fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the company and they must report all significant matters to the shareholders to obtain their willingness in taking risky decisions. Corporate governance code also requires the board to communicate with the shareholders on sufficient regularity to bring into their knowledge all the affairs of the company. HIH insurance is another example of the biggest corporate failures in Australia due to the risky practices and miscommunication from the management and eventually it was collapsed in 2001. The company had total assets of $7.8 billion dollars and there were huge debts and insurance claims which reduced the net assets of HIH to only $133 million and ultimately the company was insolvent. The management did not communicate the presence of heavy debts and claims over the assets of the company. Liquidator estimated that HIH demise took place with around $5.3 billion which is the considered to be the worst ever collapse in the Australian history. Effective Internal Control and Financial Reporting System All the corporate governance codes stresses on the need of effective internal control system to avoid fraudulent activities. In some countries like United States the director including CEO are required to report on the appropriateness of the internal control system. Similarly financial reporting system is also one of the most important tools recommended by the corporate governance to control unauthorized transactions (Nate† 2008). In the absence of effective internal control, it is very easy for staff to hide the fraudulent transaction and obtained unfair benefit. The CFO of Enron with the help of the other executives successfully misled audit committee and board with the use of accounting tricks and hide multi billion dollars debts which the company was liable to pay due to project failure. WorldCom is also one of the main victims of the corporate failure due to the financial reporting issues. Due to the downfall in the economy in early 2000, the share price of the WorldCom was declining sharply and the company was under huge pressure from their bank to cover the markup on the loans. This situation continued till 2002 when CEO, Controller and the Director of general accounts used accounting trick to show the better results than actual. Due to this fraud company’s declining financial position was shown as growing and the stock went upwards. The accounting department understated the cost of revenue by around $3.6 billion to increase the revenue; on the other hand revenue was inflated. Conclusion Different aspects of the corporate governance have been discussed above with their benefits. Above mentioned facts show that the corporate governance practices help corporate entities to avoid corporate failures. Different courtiers have different codes for corporate governance, but the essence of all code is to bring transparency in the business and avoid heavy losses to shareholders as in case of Enron and WorldCom. However, it is important to mention that there is a huge cost involve in complying with the requirements of the codes, so the corporate entities must make cost benefit analysis to put this system in place and avoid corporate failure. Bibliography Clarke, Thomas. International Corporate Governance: A Comparative Perspective. New York: Routledge, 2007. Fernando, A. C. Corporate Governance: Principles, Policies and Practices. Delhi, India: Dorling Kidersley Private Limited, 2009. Gà ¼ler, A. Global Perspectives on Corporate Governance and CSR. Burlington: Gower Publishing, 1996. Jill, Solomom. Corporate Governance and Accountability. Chichester: John Wiley Sons, 2004. Nate†, Stephens M. Corporate Governance Quality and Internal Control Reporting Under SOX. Arizina: Proquest, 2008. Patrick, Gaughan A. Mergers, Acquisitions, and Corporate Restructurings. New Jersey: John Wiley Sons, 2011. Plessis†, Jean Jacques du. Principles of Contemporary Corporate Governance. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Theodore, Sterling† F. The Enron Scandal. New York: Nova Science Publishers Inc, 2002. Tricker, Bob, and Ian Robert Tricker. Corporate Governance: Principles, Policies and Practices. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Australian people Free Essays

Throughout the years, the entire Australian nation has been in the course of constant social and racial issues between the indigenous Australian people and non-indigenous white Australian people. From the ancient time and up to the modern contemporary era, differences and gap between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australian people are clearly visible that have been the main reason of suffering amongst the indigenous Australians. Moreover, it is indeed undeniable that indigenous Australians have been through a long road of suffering from removal, discrimination, hostility and the shortcomings of effective government policy to resolve this long been issue of Aboriginal Australian. We will write a custom essay sample on Australian people or any similar topic only for you Order Now (BRI) For the most recent customary practice, the Aboriginal children are separated from their families, while the entire aboriginal homes or the indigenous communities have been moved out of their houses and sent to another subdivision of the country. Since then, the Islander traits and Indigenous way of living was in regulation and oversee in most of its aspects. (Global Ministries) Nevertheless, this issue between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australian people is not only historical. In the modern or contemporary time, the Australian aboriginals still carry the burden of intense social scrutiny with all the things that they do and to all the places that they walk off. In the most clever sense, reconciliation in the entire Australian nation signifies that both indigenous and non-indigenous Australian people must work hard together to resolve and cure the ruined relationship between them. Essentially, this process reconciliation or cure on the issue between indigenous and non-indigenous Australian will be effective through the cautious settlement of the negative outcome of the dilemma, which are the following. (BRI) â€Å"40% of the Aboriginal population is under 15 years old (compared to less than 25% of the white population). Less than 8% of the Aboriginal population is over 50 (compared to more than 25% of the white population). Unemployment amongst Aborigines is 40% compared to 10% of the white population). Unemployment in the 15-19 year age group is approx. 60% for those not in educations (compared to 20% of white youths). 55% of Aboriginal employment is provided by the private sector (compared to 78% of non-Aboriginal employment). Aboriginal people are significantly underrepresented in the wholesale/retail industry and in the Finance/Business sector). 35% of Aboriginal males’ jobs are classified as ‘laborers’ (compared to 15% of the non-Aboriginal population). 20% of Aboriginal females jobs are classified as ‘laborers’ (compared to 12. 5% of the non-aboriginal female population). 9% of Aboriginal has any post school qualifications (compared to 26% of the overall population). 53% of Aborigines live in rental accommodation (compared to 14% of total population). Aboriginal life expectancy is 15 to 17 years less than for the whole population. Death rates associated with the circulatory system are 2. 5 times greater than for the total population. 10% of the Aboriginal population lives more than 100 km. from a hospital, 17% have no access to a doctor and a further19% has no access to a nurse. Aboriginal imprisonment is 18 times that of non Aborigines. 20% of those detained in custody are Aboriginal and yet Aboriginals represent only 2. 5% of the overall population. 10% of Aboriginal people aged over 25 were taken away from their natural family by a church or government agency. The arrest rate of Aboriginal â€Å"stolen children† is 32% compared to 19% of â€Å"non-stolen† Aborigines. † (BRI) In a more in-depth review, the above factual statistics can be accounted as well to be the factual suffering of the indigenous Australian people for a long time, as the result of racial discrimination in the entire Australian nation. Nevertheless, the following statistics shows the serious and hazardous suffering of the Australian indigenous people. Basing on these detrimental statistics of the issue, it is no doubt that reconciliation across the Australian nation is badly needed to unite both the indigenous and non-indigenous Australian people and end the social suffering of the Australian aboriginals. Data shows that one of initial process of reconciliation in Australia had happened way back May 26, 1997, through â€Å"The Bringing Them Home† report, which provide an in depth information on the violence that had carried out on Australian indigenous and on the communities of Torres Strait Island, by means of forced separation of children or young aborigines from the custody of their parents and families. (Global Ministries) In deeper standpoint, the report had created a positive outcome for the Australian Federal Parliament, which initiates the change on the outlook of Australians on the indigenous as well as the Torres Strait Island people of the entire country. Also, the report had suggests that a â€Å"Sorry Day† must be done every year to remind and commemorate the soreness as well as the suffering of the indigenous Australian people, which they have experienced in a long time. Due to this, communities throughout the entire Australian nation celebrates and carries a â€Å"Sorry Day† each year on the 26th day of May, which define by most of the people as the â€Å"Day of Healing† (Global Ministries) Technically, one of the greater result of â€Å"The Bringing Them Home† in 1997 was that it inspired the formal public apology of the Australian Prime Minister for all the members of stolen generations. A day before the formal public apology of the Australian Prime Minister, Peter Garret, a well reputable Australian musician and politician, had said that the impending apologetic statement for the Australian stolen generation will pave way for the real impact of the reconciliation in entire country. According to Peter Garrett: â€Å"This simple act will open up the possibilities for healing and mutual respect so keenly needed in relations between white and black Australia. We believed that we needed to square up to our past, that the lack of an apology to Aboriginal Australians was a broken link in the chain to a joined future. † (Guardian News and Media Limited 2008) Last February 13, 2008, the Australian Prime Minister had formally delivered his statement of apology for the stolen generations that have been separated from their parents, families and communities by force. According to Mick Dodson (co-chairman of Reconciliation Australia), the apology is something that the people have been waiting for the longest time on its history. Moreover, some of the leader indigenous leader had defined the prime minister’s statement of apology as monumental, as this kind of happening in federal parliament is entirely one of the significant events in its history. (ABC Darwin) In a brief background of the social injustice, it is said that the harmful practice had begun in early and the middle of 18th century, which continuous to moves on until the year 1970. Through the 1997 analysis made by the Equal Opportunity Commission and Human Rights, it was stated that between one out of ten and three out of ten young children of Torres Straight Islander children and aboriginals are separated by force from their family from 1910 and 1970. (ABC Darwin) The initial beginning of force removal of child policy was specifically designed for the fortification that vindicates the assimilation and segregation of Indigenous people in Australia. This policy was formalized through Legislation under the command of the Colonial governments, which gives broad authority over the lives of indigenous and Torres Straight Islander people defined by the governmental subsidiary, named as the Aboriginal Protection Board or better known as the APB. (Link Up 1997) Nevertheless, the above policies have been through different objections as it was cited to be a violation of human rights. Through the recent years, the agreement was released that quotes the assimilation programs as a failure that it only generate suffering and sorrow for the Indigenous Australians of today. (Maiden, p. 1) Currently, the appreciation on the stolen generation is a major subject across the Australian nation and in the House of Representative. In reality, the present Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of the Commonwealth of Australia had formalized the recognition of the stolen generation through his statement of apology for the indigenous Australian. Together with the Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had received a warm welcome on their entrance in the Great Hall. This event is considered to be the largest recognition for the social injustice in the entire Australian history (Maiden, p. 1) In more in-depth analysis, the apology made by the Australian Prime Minister had garner vague and diverse feedback from the entire Australian people from both indigenous and non-indigenous. Some of the feedback says that the apology is a brighter action to lead the entire nation into reconciliation between the indigenous and non-indigenous people. Also, some of the initial reactions on this, states that an apology is not enough and would only turned out to be meaningless if the apology will not be supported with the necessary procedures to ensure the progress of the positive beginning for reconciliation. Nevertheless, some of the feedbacks by the Australian people directly says their negative or oppositionist stand on the statement of apology by the prime minister and utter that a long been problem like racism in Australia will not be healed by just a simple public apology, rather compensation and effectual actions is needed. (Guardian News and Media Limited 2008) The Table below shows the actual size and population statistics of the Australian indigenous people. Technically, the table states that there are 410,000 Australian indigenous people, as of the year 2001 Census. Approximately, there are 409,729 Australian people with Aboriginal foundation and there are 29,239 Australian populace of Torres Strait Islander origin. Furthermore, there are 19,552 Australian people that are recognized with both indigenous and Torres Strait Islander origin. Slightly, the statistics of Australian indigenous women is greater that the aboriginal men with 230,994 female as compare to the 227,562 male, which is identical with the Australian non-indigenous distribution. (Human Rights Equal Opportunity Commission) The Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law in the Faculty of Law, on the other hand, portray a significant independent function in the reconciliation process in the entire Australian Nation. The Firm is active to held public debate on the major issues that is critical to the future of Australia: includes the native title, bill of rights, terrorism challenges and the reconciliation process in the entire country. With al of these participations of the firm, it can be argued that the greatest contribution of the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law is the participation of the firm in the reconciliation process between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australian people. Essentially, the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law had made their submission to the Australia 2020 Summit. (Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law) Technically, the 20/20 summit was a two day meeting with the list of volunteers and people form the government. Held last 19th and the 20th day of April 2008, the summit tackles the ten specific policies from the summit, which include the aspect of Australian economy and government’s long health program strategy. Nevertheless, the issue of indigenous Australians is one of the most important subjects of the two day summit, which deals with the future of the indigenous Australian people. (ABC International) Moreover, the topic 7 of the 20/20 summit talks about the future of Indigenous Australian people. The discussion states that in the year 2020 must be part of the national good information of the history inside the school classrooms. Health should have rapidly increased closed to the national average of non-indigenous Australians. Topic 7 then states that Australian indigenous people must increase the stage of employment, which Australian aboriginals must have their fair share of the country’s wealth, through equal employment or work opportunity. (The University of South Wales) Furthermore, the discussion includes that Australian Indigenous people must be included to the legislative position of public policy in the entire Australian area and in Canberra. Indigenous leader must participate to the programs of government and lead autonomous aboriginal institutions of governance. Also, 20/20 summit states that the Australian constitution must spread the pride about the profound and lasting and forceful contribution of the Australian aboriginal people to the life of entire nation and protect their equal rights of citizenship in the country, as the original owners of the land. (The University of South Wales) In addition to this, the national treaty must spread the honest information of the past and portray a positive outlook on the future of relationship amongst indigenous and non-indigenous Australian people. Nevertheless, the end conclusion of the 20/20 summit in the country, contributes to the brighter future of countries stable citizen relationship and to the reconciliation process between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australian people. (The University of South Wales) In a deeper review of the subject, a treaty is essentially necessary for the entire Australian country in able to resolve the long been issue of racial discrimination between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australian people. Technically, a treaty is also known as a governmental agreement specifically designed to resolve a specific issue or conflict in the society. In Australia, a treaty is critical to connect the link between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australian people and resolve the historical issue of racial discrimination in the entire country. Moreover, the Australian version of their treaty was designed to resolve the human right issues of the indigenous Australian and to create the positive relationship between the two different races, which have been the long intend of the nation. (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission) Specifically, the Committee of Australian Treaty is accounted to negotiate and formulate an agreement that will deal with the following issues in the society: 1. ) â€Å"The protection of Aboriginal identity, languages, law and culture; National land rights legislation; 2. ) Conditions governing mining and exploration of natural resources on Aboriginal land; 3. ) Compensation for loss of traditional lands and for damage to those lands and traditional way of life; and 4. ) Right of Aboriginals to control their own affairs and establish their own associations for this purpose. † (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission) Nevertheless, Australian treaty is negotiated specifically to resolve the long been conflict of both past and present social injustice between the indigenous and the non-indigenous Australian people. Moreover, the Australian treaty carries same goal or purpose to make the link and acceptance between the indigenous and non-indigenous people in the entire Australian community. In addition to this, the treaty in Australia will definitely support and empower the progress of reconciliation in the entire Australian nation. (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission) According to Mark Leibler, the symbolic idea is significant in the reconciliation of Australian races, which he states that concentrating in just one side will never be the true essence of reconciliation. Furthermore, he states that practicality is more important to achieve the unity of the country that reconciliation is not just the government’s work – rather it is the voyage of the entire nation and Australians must have done their part. (Reconciliation) Jackie Huggins, on the other hand, gives a clear emphasis to the right of an individual to choose the path that he or she wanted to take. Moreover, she states that indigenous and non-indigenous Australian must be protected on their political and legal rights, as an individual in able to sustain their culture and heritage of the land, as a unified nation. (Reconciliation) Treaty of Waitangi is an agreement between the British Crown and Maori. Signed in the year 1840, the treaty had established the British law in New Zealand, when at the same time it assures the Maoris to their right on their culture and land. With this, the Treaty of Waitangi is renowned as the beginning article of the entire country of New Zealand. Nevertheless, the Treaty of Waitangi was a definite success in New Zealand law, which it serves as a brilliant agreement between the British crown and Maori of equal distribution of powers and rights on their land. (Tourism New Zealand) However, despite of the success of the agreement, the treaty still records mishaps and problems on its history. The first mishap of the treaty is that in the English version of the agreement says that the Maori had give up their governorship or sovereignty or better known as kawanatanga, to the British Crown, when the truth is that Maori just agrees to share power with the British crown. (Tourism New Zealand) In addition to this, the Maori holds their edition that broader pledge of rights for Maori to the custody of their on hand treasure or better known as taonga. While the English version states that the Maori had give up their control on their treasures like lands, fisheries and forests to the British crown, when the fact is that Maori had agrees to protection of their heritage such as language and culture. (Tourism New Zealand) With all of these mishaps and dilemmas of the Treaty of Waitangi, the Australians must be definite and specific to the context of their version of treaty in able to prevent and avoid the problems that the Treaty of Waitangi had experienced. Nevertheless, the Australians must learn how to protect the true essence of their treaty to assure that they will never experience the same thing that had happened in Treaty of Waitangi, which was troubled by the diverse version of their agreement. On the other hand, the Australian version of treaty must have the essential legal avenues to resolve the conflict in its society in able to ensure the effective progress of reconciliation between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australian people. Furthermore, the Australian treaty must have the legal procedures that straightforwardly deal with the past and present social injustice that indigenous Australians had experienced in able to restore the equal justice between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australian people. In the end, the Australia’s version of treaty is essential to achieve the nations intend of reconciliation between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australian people. Moreover, the treaty is definitely helpful to resolve the social injustice on Australian indigenous people from past and present. Nevertheless, the Australian treaty will be supportive to restore the equal share of justice and human rights between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australian people. It is essential for Australian treaty to have a clear and definite context to efficiently prevent the predicaments that the Treaty of Waitangi had experienced. Finally, the Australian treaty must be symbolic, which both the indigenous and non-indigenous must work hard together in able to achieve the reconciliation between the two different Australian races. Nonetheless, the treaty must convey equal terms on both indigenous and non-indigenous side to equally cater the needs of both parties. References BRI (n. d), RECONCILIATION ISSUES: Retrieved June 12, 2008 from http://www. bri. net. au/Reconciliation. html Global Ministries (2006), Reconciliation Australia: Retrieved June 12, 2008 from http://www. globalministries. org/eap/missionaries/reconcilliation-australia. html Guardian News and Media Limited (2008), Australia says sorry for racist past: Retrieved June 12, 2008 from http://blogs. guardian. co. uk/news/2008/02/it_has_been_a_long. html ABC Darwin (2008), The long road to a short word: Retrieved June 12, 2008 http://www. abc. net. au/local/stories/2008/02/07/2157107. htm Link Up (NSW) Tikka Jan Wilson (1997): In the Best Interest of the Child? Stolen Generation Aboriginal pain/White shame, Paragon Printers, pp 51-57, 125-126 S. Maiden (2008), Rudd apology sorry to Aboriginal Stolen Generations: Retrieved June 12, 2008 http://www. theaustralian. news. com. au/story/0,25197,23205437-601,00. html Human Rights Equal Opportunity Commission (2006), A statistical overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia: Retrieved June 12, 2008 from http://www. hreoc. gov. au/Social_Justice/statistics/index. html Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law (2008), Latest News: Retrieved June 12, 2008 from http://www. gtcentre. unsw. edu. au/ ABC International (2008), Australia’s report on 20/20 ideas summit released: Retrieved June 12, 2008 from http://www. radioaustralia. net. au/news/stories/200805/s2261233. htm? tab=latest The University of South Wales (2008), Australia 20/20 Summit: Retrieved June 12, 2008 from http://www. gtcentre. unsw. edu. au/news/docs/2020_Summit_Submission. pdf Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (2002), Treaty – Advancing reconciliation Murdoch University, Western Australia, 27 June 2002: Retrieved June 12, 2008 from http://www. hreoc. gov. au/about/media/speeches/social_justice/treaty_conference. html Reconciliation (n. d), Reconciliation in Australia – Current Practices and Future Directions: Retrieved June 12, 2008 Tourism New Zealand (2008), Treaty of Waitangi: Retrieved June 12, 2008 from http://www. newzealand. com/travel/about-nz/history/history-treaty-of-waitangi. cfm How to cite Australian people, Papers

Contract Law Engaging in Contracts

Question: Assignment on the basic principles of Contract Law . - Apply their knowledge in daily situations where this area of law comes into play - Make informed decisions in respect of matters covered in the topics of the course, such as engaging in contracts - Recognise and identify the need for professional advice where necessary. Answer: 1. There are several ways in which an offer can be terminated. These are the events that take place after one party has made an offer to the other party but due to these events, the offer comes to an end and as a result, it cannot be accepted by the opposite party any more. Some of the ways of terminating an offer include revocation, rejection, counter-offer, lapse of time, operation of law or death. Revocation: An offer can come to an end as a result of revocation of the offer. In this regard, revocation can be described as a situation where the offer is withdrawn by the opposite party. The general rule related with the revocation of offer was provided by the court in Payne v Cave when it stated that offeror can revoke before it has been accepted by the opposite party. But in such a case, the revocation of the offer should be effectively communicated directly or indirectly to the other party before the offer has been accepted (Atiyah, 2000). This position was further strengthened in Byrne v Van Tienhoven (1880) where the court stated that the withdrawal of the offer that was directed by telegram was considered to be communicated simply when such telegram was received by the other party. However in Dickinson v Dodds (1876), the court said that sufficient communication regarding the withdrawal of offer can also be made through a third-party. Rejection: an offer is also considered to have been terminated when the party to whom the offer was made, communicates its rejection of the offer to the party making the offer. In this way, the law provides that when the offeree has made a counter-offer or has introduced new conditions, the consequence is the rejection of the offer and as a result, the original offer cannot be accepted later on (Beatson, Burrows and Cartwright, 2010). For example in Hyde v Wrench (1840), it was mentioned that the consequence of the counter-offer made by the offeree is that the original offer is terminated. 2 (a) In the present case, a valid and enforceable contract has not been created between Kaira and her aunt due to the lack of consideration. (b) according to law contract, there are certain elements that should be present in a contract to make it valid and legally enforceable. Among these elements is the element of consideration. The law of contract provides that in order to make the agreement binding, the promisee should provide some kind of consideration the return of the comments received by them. The result of this requirement is that generally the gratuitous promises are not considered as being the enforceable. In the same way, the law provides that a past consideration is not valid. Hence, the consideration is required to be existing either with or after the promise (Collins, 2003). On the other hand, when the specified consideration pre-dates the promise, it will be considered as a past consideration and therefore not a good consideration. But certain exceptions are there to the general rule. As a result, the past consideration can be considered as a good consideration if it has been provided at the request of the promisor or if an understanding was present between the parties that such an act will be remunerated or if the promise took place in advance of the act, it would have been legally enforceable (McKendrick, 2009). On the other hand, in the present case Kaira had washed and polished her aunt's car in order to surprise and therefore the act was not done at the request of her aunt. Moreover, there was no understanding between them that they will be remunerated. Therefore in the present case even if Kaira had purchased necessary warm clothes for the trip to Disneyland, the promise made by Kaira's aunt is not legally enforceable. Furthermore, in case of domestic agreements, there is a rebuttable presumption that did not have the intention of creating a legal relationship. Therefore, Kaira is also required to establish that they had the intention of creating a legal relationship. 3.(a) The price tag of $30.00 has been mistakenly placed on the set of pearls. Moreover, the price tag cannot be considered as an offer but it was only an invitation to treat. (b) In the present case, the shopkeeper can refuse to sell the pearls set to Hari at the mistaken price of $30. The reason is that the fact that the set of pearls had been displayed in a showcase along with a price tag does not amount to an offer but it is just an invitation to treat. The distinction between the two is that when an offer is accepted it forms a contract between the parties, an invitation to treat is merely made with a view to invite offers from the other party. As a result, an invitation to treat cannot be accepted for the purpose of creating a legally enforceable contract (Peel and Treitel, 2011). In Pharmaceutical Society of Britain v Boots (1953), the court stated that the display of a product in a store along with its price is not sufficient for being considered as an offer but it is merely an invitation to treat. Similarly in Fisher v Bell (1961), it was stated that displaying a flick knife in the shop did not contravene the law according to which, offering such offensive weapon for sale was prohibited. In the same way if any item has been mistakenly displayed by a shop at a very low price, the shop is not under an obligation to sell the item at that price. 4.(a) As mentioned above, there are certain elements that should be present for making an agreement enforceable by the law. Among these elements, the first requirement is that of an offer. Therefore in order to make an agreement the enforceable, a party should make an offer to the other party. There is no particular form required for making an offer. Consequently, when Tom asked Jerry if he will be interested in purchasing his car, he had made an offer to Jerry. (b) In the present case, Jerry was under the impression that Tom wanted to sell the SLK280 because he had always seen Tom drive this car. Under the circumstances, he believed that when Tom made an offer to sell his car, he must have been talking regarding his Mercedes-Benz car. Therefore the issue deals with mistakes under the contract law. Under the contract law, mistake is a complicated field. However the general rule mentions that in case the party is mistaken regarding particular aspect, it will not allow such party to discharge its responsibilities under the contract, even in the mistake is a basic one. However, remedies and will be provided under the contract law only in case of four types of mistakes under limited circumstances. These are common mistake, mutual mistake, unilateral mistake and non est factum. Therefore in the present case while Jerry believed that when Tom was talking about selling his car, he must have been talking about his Mercedes-Benz car as he had never s een Tom drive these are the car, the Lexus S250MR. But in this regard it needs to be noted that as both the cars belong to Tom, he was also correct when he stated that he was willing to sell his car thereby meaning the Lexus S250MR. Under the circumstances, it is clear that Jerry was under a mistake when he believed that Tom was talking about his Mercedes-Benz car. (c) In the present case, the validity of the contract between Jerry and Tom has been affected as a result of the mistake made by them. As mentioned above, under the contract law there are three types of mistakes that are recognized by the courts. These are common mistake, unilateral mistake and mutual mistake. When both the parties have made the same mistake, it is called the common mistake. Mutual mistake takes place when the parties are at cross purposes and in case of a unilateral mistake, only one party is mistaken. However when a finding is made by the court regarding the presence of a mistake in the contract, generally the effect will be that the contract will be rendered void ab initio. In this way, it is considered that a contract never existed between the parties. This position is significantly different from the voidable contracts. In case of a voidable contract, the contract is valid until the innocent party has taken action to set aside the contract. For example, in the present case it appears that Jerry and Tom had made a mutual mistake. In such a case, the parties are at cross purposes. In the present case also, while Jerry wanted to purchase the Mercedes-Benz car, Tom believed that he was going to sell his Lexus. In such a case, an objective test is applied by the courts for the purpose of seeing if the contract can be saved. In this context, it is considered in any other reasonable person, keeping in view the negotiations between the parties, would have understood the contract to have a single meaning. If the answer is in the affirmative the contract is considered as valid regarding that meaning. On the other hand if any other reasonable person would also fail to decide the meaning of the contract, in such a case the contract will be considered as void on the grounds of mistake. In the present case also, the contract between Jerry and Tom is void and therefore, the law considers that there was never a contract between Jerry a nd Tom. References Atiyah, P.S. 2000 An Introduction to the Law of Contract, Clarendon Beatson, J. Burrows A. and Cartwright, J. 2010 Anson's Law of Contract, 29th edn OUP Collins, H. 2003, Contract Law in Context 4th edn CUP McKendrick, E. 2009 Contract Law 8th edn Palgrave Peel E and Treitel, G.H. 2011, Treitel on the Law of Contract, 13th edn Sweet and Maxwell Case Law Byrne Co v Leon Van Tien Hoven Co [1880] 5 CPD 344 Dickinson v Dodds (1876) 2 Ch D 463 Fisher v Bell [1961] 1 QB 394 Hyde v Wrench [1840] EWHC Ch J90 Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash Chemists (Southern) Ltd [1953] EWCA Civ