LLB contract law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

LLB contract law - Essay Example In other words, a consideration is the benefit to the promissory. Although contracts are only binding on the parties when they are supported by a consideration, the English law allows a person to desert his/her promise to another without recourse. Nevertheless, there have been many incidences where persons end up claiming back their rights after deserting such rights by making promises to the other parties to a contract. Therefore, to help the promisee in such situations, the doctrine of promissory estoppels was developed to prevent people from claiming back the rights they had waived by promising the party to the contract that they are no longer willing to receive consideration either partially or in full in return for making such a move2. In plain, the doctrine of promissory estoppels requires that the promisor must be true and faithful in making a promise. Accordingly, the doctrine bars the promisor from changing the promise that he or she had made to the promisee. Therefore, from the definition, it can be stated that the promissory estoppel acts as an alternative to consideration. This is because, instead of having to provide a consideration for the contract to be enforceable, an aggrieved party can argue promissory estoppel as a defence for a promise made by the promisee in a contract. This is because the doctrine of promissory estoppel prevents the person who has made a promise to reclaim the gratuitous rights that they had given back. In this regard, promissory estoppel doctrine offers an effective defence to an aggrieved promisor in the event that the promisee breaches their promise by reclaiming initial terms of the agreement. This is because the doctrine makes a promise binding to both the parties to the promise without the need of consideration3. Nonetheless, some legal experts have argued that, as much as equitable promissory estoppel can offer effective defence in a contract, the doctrine cannot offer the same defence