Wang Chaohua, The Contract-Protecting Principle in the Late Medieval English Labour Market

　　In medieval England, the contractual labour relations developed rapidly and the contract-protecting principle in the labour market achieved its embryonic form. Numerous litigations on labourers survived in various levels of court rolls after the Black Death as the Statutes of Labourers were issued and implemented. These litigations indicate that breaches of contracts were common for both servants and masters, with both sides claiming their rights in the court. In this process, the principle of contract-protecting got further development and obtained three characters of legality, equity and universality. At the level of the practical operation, the statutes have become the basis which was referred to solve the private labour disputes. The protection and remedies for the contracts through the courts ensured labour contracts to be concluded and performed, and trouble-free operation of the medieval labour market as well.