limited parallels on the Continent is the informal andself-help' nature of some, such termination, meaning that it is not necessary in law to go to court or to give the other party special notice to invoke them. 31 This means that the remedies can be exercised speedily and without immed iate cost again features attractive to commerce. Once more Scots law borrowed the English approach here in the nineteenth century, and the principles follow suit with regard to its remedies of withholding performance and termination of the contract(see Chapter 9, sections 2 and 3) 4. Undisclosed principal in agency/representation Moving away from remedies, a final example of an English doctrine based upon commercial utility rather than strict conceptual purity which has found its way into Scots law and the Principles, but not into Continental systems, is that of the undisclosed principal in cases of agency 32 The gist of this doctrine is that an ether in a contract his principal and theothetant tent who has not revealed to his co-c that he is an agent may nonetheless bind toge party( Chapter 3 section 3) These examples suffice to make my basic point, which is the simple one that in a number of important respects the mixed Scots law of contract has anticipated the position arrived at by the lando commission in considering what is the best rule of contract law to deal with particular situations. The same might be said of other mixed systems, such as that of South Africa which likewise rejects consideration, gives immed iate effect within limits to postal acceptances, allows third party rights, favours specific performance, adheres broadly to a unified concept of breach, and has adopted the doctrines of repud iation, self-help remedies and the undisclosed principal. 3 Of course it is not suggested that all the Lando Commission had to do was codify the Scots law of contract-in fact, its deficiencies and gaps are highlighted by much of the Commission's work -but it might have provided a useful point of departure, perhaps alongside some of the other mixed systems Another interesting dimension is that Scots law reached its position largely through the decisions of the courts, i.e. it reflected problems that actually arose in practice. There was no worthwhile systematisation of contract law by a text writer until 1914, 34 by when many of the modern features had been laid down by the judges. Some of the nineteenth-century developments show the flexibility of approach which may not be possible with a code. The law of breach provides a particularly good example: the move to adopt some major characteristics of the English system took place quite suddenly in the middle of the century, and provides a striking contrast to the difficulties of German law, hampered by its ossification in the concepts of the BGB of 1900. There are other examples in areas of contrad law which I have not so far mentioned. For instance, it was judicially noted in 1868 that Scots Treitel, Remedies, pp. 323-40 32Zweigert and Kotz, pp. 433-44, 436-41 For Scots law see SME, vol 1, paras 616-23, 625-27, 637, 657 3 For discussion of these points see R Zimmermann and D Visser(eds), Southern Cross: Civil Law and Common Law in South Africa(Cape Town, 1996), pp 165-80, 303-34, 342-44. Note that offers are generally evoca ble in South africa 4WMGloag, The Law of Contract: a Treatise on the Principles ofcontract in the Law ofScotland(Edinburg 1914). The second edition of 1929 remained the only book-length treatment of the subject until the late 1970: Before 1914 there were only treatments within more general works on private lawlimited parallels on the Continent is the informal and ‘self-help’ nature of some, such as termination, meaning that it is not necessary in law to go to court or to give the other party special notice to invoke them.31 This means that the remedies can be exercised speedily and without immediate cost, again features attractive to commerce. Once more Scots law borrowed the English approach here in the nineteenth century, and the Principles follow suit with regard to its remedies of withholding performance and termination of the contract (see Chapter 9, sections 2 and 3). 4. Undisclosed principal in agency/representation Moving away from remedies, a final example of an English doctrine based upon commercial utility rather than strict conceptual purity which has found its way into Scots law and the Principles, but not into Continental systems, is that of the undisclosed principal in cases of agency.32 The gist of this doctrine is that an agent who has not revealed to his co-contractant that he is an agent may nonetheless bind together in a contract his principal and the other party (Chapter 3 section 3). These examples suffice to make my basic point, which is the simple one that in a number of important respects the mixed Scots law of contract has anticipated the position arrived at by the Lando Commission in considering what is the best rule of contract law to deal with particular situations. The same might be said of other mixed systems, such as that of South Africa which likewise rejects consideration, gives immediate effect within limits to postal acceptances, allows third party rights, favours specific performance, adheres broadly to a unified concept of breach, and has adopted the doctrines of repudiation, self-help remedies and the undisclosed principal.33 Of course it is not suggested that all the Lando Commission had to do was codify the Scots law of contract - in fact, its deficiencies and gaps are highlighted by much of the Commission’s work - but it might have provided a useful point of departure, perhaps alongside some of the other mixed systems. Another interesting dimension is that Scots law reached its position largely through the decisions of the courts, i.e. it reflected problems that actually arose in practice. There was no worthwhile systematisation of contract law by a text writer until 1914,34 by when many of the modern features had been laid down by the judges. Some of the nineteenth-century developments show the flexibility of approach which may not be possible with a code. The law of breach provides a particularly good example: the move to adopt some major characteristics of the English system took place quite suddenly in the middle of the century, and provides a striking contrast to the difficulties of German law, hampered by its ossification in the concepts of the BGB of 1900. There are other examples in areas of contract law which I have not so far mentioned. For instance, it was judicially noted in 1868 that Scots 31Treitel, Remedies, pp. 323-40. 32Zweigert and Kötz, pp. 433-44, 436-41. For Scots law see SME, vol 1, paras 616-23, 625-27, 637, 657. 33For discussion of these points see R Zimmermann and D Visser (eds), Southern Cross: Civil Law and Common Law in South Africa (Cape Town, 1996), pp. 165-80, 303-34, 342-44. Note that offers are generally revocable in South Africa. 34W M Gloag, The Law of Contract: a Treatise on the Principles of Contract in the Law of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1914). The second edition of 1929 remained the only book-length treatment of the subject until the late 1970s. Before 1914 there were only treatments within more general works on private law