LNAT Knowledge 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which legal doctrine allows courts to imply a term into a contract that the parties did not expressly include?
- Promissory estoppel
- Implied terms (Correct answer)
- Frustration
- Unconscionability
Correct answer: Implied terms
Courts may imply terms into contracts by law, custom, or to give business efficacy, filling gaps the parties did not address.
Question 2: Under the US federal system, what does the Supremacy Clause establish?
- The President's authority over Congress
- Federal law as the supreme law of the land over conflicting state laws (Correct answer)
- The Supreme Court's power to strike down legislation
- Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce
Correct answer: Federal law as the supreme law of the land over conflicting state laws
The Supremacy Clause (Article VI) establishes that the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties are the supreme law of the land, preempting conflicting state laws.
Question 3: What is 'actus reus' in criminal law?
- The mental element of a crime
- The physical act or conduct constituting a crime (Correct answer)
- The victim's consent
- The sentencing phase of a trial
Correct answer: The physical act or conduct constituting a crime
Actus reus (Latin: 'guilty act') refers to the physical element of a criminal offence — the voluntary act, omission, or state of affairs prohibited by law.
Question 4: Which landmark case established the principle of judicial review in the United States?
- McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
- Marbury v. Madison (1803) (Correct answer)
- Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
- Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Correct answer: Marbury v. Madison (1803)
In Marbury v. Madison (1803), Chief Justice John Marshall established the Supreme Court's authority to invalidate laws that conflict with the Constitution.
Question 5: In tort law, what distinguishes 'battery' from 'assault'?
- Assault requires physical contact; battery does not
- Battery involves actual physical contact; assault is the apprehension of imminent contact (Correct answer)
- Battery is a crime only; assault can be a civil tort
- There is no legal distinction between the two
Correct answer: Battery involves actual physical contact; assault is the apprehension of imminent contact
Assault is causing someone to apprehend immediate unlawful force, while battery is the actual application of unlawful force to another person.
Question 6: What is the role of the 'ratio decidendi' in a court judgment?
- A judge's personal opinion on the law
- The legal reason for the decision that creates binding precedent (Correct answer)
- A summary of the facts of the case
- The dissenting judge's view
Correct answer: The legal reason for the decision that creates binding precedent
The ratio decidendi is the legal reasoning essential to the court's decision and is the part of a judgment that binds lower courts under the doctrine of precedent.
Question 7: Which principle in administrative law requires public authorities to act within their legal powers?
- Proportionality
- Vires (Correct answer)
- Natural justice
- Legitimate expectation
Correct answer: Vires
The ultra vires doctrine holds that a public body acts unlawfully if it acts beyond the powers granted to it by Parliament or statute.
LNAT Knowledge 4
Which legal doctrine allows courts to imply a term into a contract that the parties did not expressly include?