Commercial Law: Principles and Policy

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Authors: Nicholas Ryder, Margaret Griffiths & Lachmi Singh

Price: £34.99

Edition: 1st Edition (June 2012)

ISBN: 978-0-52-175802-4

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Because commercial law is such a vast area of law, it is often difficult to decide which topics to include in a textbook.  This new text from Cambridge University Press, written by a team of three experienced academics, looks at the principles and policy of commercial law.  Commercial Law: Principles and Policy therefore includes, rather unusually (but a welcome addition) the principles and policies of the UK financial services industry.  This means the topics covered by this new textbook are truly unique amongst the numerous texts out there.

Commercial Law: Principles and Policy is split into seven parts: agency; sale of goods and services; international trade and sales; tortious liability for defective products; unfair commercial practices; banking and finance law; and consumer credit.  Each part is then split into a number of chapters.  For example, the part dealing with unfair commercial practices includes chapters on: the policy on unfair commercial practices; and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.  Similarly, the chapter on banking and finance law includes chapters on: government policy; banking and finance law; and banking regulation.  This is an impressive range of topics to be included in one text.

Commercial Law: Principles and Policy is, on the whole, well-written and provides both an engaging and stimulating account of the subject matter.  It does, however, from time to time over simplify the material or fail to flag important changes (whether prospective or recent).  For example, it overlooks the important decision of the European Court of Justice on distance selling in Easycar (UK) Limited v Office of Fair Trading [2005] All ER (EC) 834.  It also does not fully incorporate the changes to the Consumer Credit Act 1974 following the implementation of the Consumer Credit Directive in February 2011.  These are, however, minor gripes in an otherwise excellent text.

For any new text, the problem is always how you become different in a crowded market.  This can be done by price, by content, by added value (like precedents or online resources) or by a combination of any of these.  Commercial Law: Principles and Policy adopts the content approach by including chapters on topics not traditionally covered by commercial law textbooks.  This is an excellent idea because these non-traditional topics underpin (and provide a springboard for) all areas of commercial law.  The text's excellent written style, which covers the key principles in a clear and accessible way, also means it is an excellent text for anyone interested in, or studying, commercial law.  Let us hope we do not have too long for a second edition!

Reviewed on 30 March 2013

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