Critically consider the position of the 'reasonable person' in both Coursework

Critically consider the position of the 'reasonable person' in both the laws of contract and negligence. Uses cases and examples from both areas of laws to illustrate your answer - Coursework Example It will critically evaluate the concept and how it intersects with these branches of law. The study will review the concepts in light of examples and other aspects of judicial precedence. â€Å"The reasonable man [person] provides a legal standard against which a defendant’s culpability can be evaluated. If he is found to have behaved as a â€Å"reasonable† person would have under similar circumstances, he might be owed compensation rather than a punitive penalty.† (Donovan, 2013, p. 100). This means the concept of a reasonable person exists to provide a basic standard of a expectation that a person of a certain level of mental awareness should be able to foresee and deal with. This means that a reasonable person is deduced through an assessment of what an individual will have ideally considered in similar situations and contexts. The usage of the doctrine of reasonable person varies across different branches of law. It is utilised in criminal law and may be varied in setting the standard of care or standard of responsiveness based on the category of law that is being discussed. In the law of contract, the standard of a reasonable person is often invoked to examine the actions of a party in relation to a contract that is seen as an arms-length transaction or not. This is meant to ascertain if the contract was fair or not and hence, it provides guidance on how the law was put together and how the legal convention was utilised in dealing with people and in dealing with various processes that culminated in the formulation of the contract. A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two parties with an intention to create a legal relationship and it goes through the stages of offer, acceptance and mutual exchange of consideration (Hunt, 2014). A contract is voluntary and hence, each party must enter the contract willingly and without duress. Therefore, it can be stated that in cases where a person enters a