Offer and Acceptance

What is Contract Law?

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Core function of Contract Law is to enforce mutual

Agreements.
Agreements can only come into existence when there is a
clear and unequivocal OFFER and ACCEPTANCE
Having an agreement does not mean that you have a legally
binding contract. To enforce an agreement you have to prove
the existence of an INTENTION to create legal relations and
CONSIDERATION, only then will you have a valid CONTRACT.

CONTRACT- 4 elements
1. OFFER
2. ACCEPTANCE
3. INTENTION
4. CONSIDERATION

How was Contract Law formed? (History)

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The Doctrine of Freedom of Contract (DOC) is what drove the

development of Contract Law.
The DOC encourages parties to voluntarily enter into and
agreement. The law of Contract ONLY intervenes when there is
a breach of contract.
Courts have been seen to intervene to protect weaker parties
during the age of rising commercial and economic activity,
due to the fact that when there are two contracting parties
who have unequal strength, the stronger may impose terms
on the weaker.
(Norweb Plc v Dixon & W v Essex CC)
The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 defies the DOC and
emphasizes on protection of weaker parties.

Privity of Contract?
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Only parties to a contract or privy to a contract may have any

remedy or compensation.
This must now be considered in the light of the Contract
(Rights and Third Parties) Act 1999.

Vitiating Factors?

A valid contract may be declared Voidable in light of vitiating

factors. This is where intention of the parties is questioned
due to existence of fraud, misrepresentation or mistake.

Intention?
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To verify the existence of an offer and acceptance the courts

make use of an objective test in order to infer the intention
of the parties to reach an agreement based on facts.

In order to answer a question on Formation of Contract:1. Identify Offer and Acceptance

2. Asses Intention to Contract
When a case does not fall into the general frame work of the rules of
offer and acceptance, courts will focus on intention of the parties.
(Clarke v Dunraven)
Objective Test?
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This test examines what parties said and did externally, not
what they actually intended to say or do.