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''Essentialia negotii'' ( en, essential aspects or basic terms) is a Latin legal term used in contract law. It denotes the minimum contents of a contract in order for it to be held effective and legally binding.


General contracts

However, the court may not just hold that a contract is invalid. In England, the
Sale of Goods Act 1979 The Sale of Goods Act 1979c 54 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which regulated English contract law and UK commercial law in respect of goods that are sold and bought. The Act consolidated the original Sale of Goods Act 1893 ...
s.8(2) states ‘the buyer must pay reasonable price’ when a contract of sale is silent on price. Accordingly the absence of price may not be fatal to a contract of sale.


Employment contracts

In
contracts of employment An employment contract or contract of employment is a kind of contract used in labour law to attribute rights and responsibilities between parties to a bargain. The contract is between an "employee" and an "employer". It has arisen out of the old m ...
, essential terms can include not just pay and a basic job description (the work-wage bargain) but also to specifics on holidays, a notice period in the event of dismissal, the place of work, any
collective agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...
s and whether the job is expected to be permanent or a fixed term contract. These are examples under European Union law, implemented under '' Directive 91/533 on an employer's obligation to inform employees of the conditions applicable to the contract of employment relationship''.OJ L 1991 288 Article 2 of the Directive states,
"1. An employer shall be obliged to notify an employee to whom this Directive applies hereinafter referred to as the "employee", of the ''essential aspects'' of the contract or employment relationship"
All countries in the European Union are required to "translate" directives into national legislation. An example of this is the Employment Rights Act 1996, section 1, in the United Kingdom, which sets out the obligation of employers to supply employees with a statement of written particulars within two months of employment beginning. In the English speaking world, this notion has not survived as well as in civil law jurisdictions, for the doctrine of
consideration Consideration is a concept of English common law and is a necessity for simple contracts but not for special contracts (contracts by deed). The concept has been adopted by other common law jurisdictions. The court in '' Currie v Misa'' declare ...
has essentially covered the requirement of essential terms in basic bargains. However the concept of what is "essential" changes according to the nature of a particular contract, and so there may be fewer "essentials" in the case of a simple shopping exchange, and more essentials necessary for the proper functioning of a contract in the case of renting a home, taking out a bank loan or pursuing a career.


See also

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Commercial law Commercial law, also known as mercantile law or trade law, is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and business engaged in commerce, merchandising, trade, and sales. It is often considered to be a branc ...
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Sale of goods A contract of sale, sales contract, sales order, or contract for sale is a legal contract for the purchase of assets (goods or property) by a buyer (or purchaser) from a seller (or vendor) for an agreed upon value in money (or money equivalent). ...
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Lex Mercatoria ''Lex mercatoria'' (from the Latin for "merchant law"), often referred to as "the Law Merchant" in English, is the body of commercial law used by merchants throughout Europe during the medieval period. It evolved similar to English common law as ...
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Labour law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...


References

{{Law Contract law Latin legal terminology