Glossary

Class action. Where a large group of people all have the same claim against a defendant, a small group of named plaintiffs may commence a suit against the defendant in which they represent, not only their own interests, but those of the entire class.

Classical contract law. The name used to describe the law of contracts as it existed in the period running from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, in which modern contract law was developed and systematized.

Clickwrap. Standard contract terms contained in a website or software and set up in a way that requires the user of the site or software to access the terms and to signify assent to them, usually by action such as clicking an “I agree” button.

Common law. A term with three related but distinct meanings. It denotes:

1. The basic legal system of countries whose law derives from the common law of England.

2. The judge-made (as opposed to statutory) component of our law.

3. The process of legal analysis under which judges interpret, develop, and embellish rules of law.

Comparative law. The comparative study of the laws or legal systems of two or more nations.

Concurrent conditions. Where mutual performances under a contract are dependent on each other and the contract does not expressly or impliedly set out a sequence for performance, they must be rendered at the same time, and each performance is deemed in law to be a condition of the other. Therefore, if one of the parties fails to perform, the other is excused from doing so.