Assignment No:03

Submitted to:

Dr. Fakhre Ali

Submitted by:
Abdullah Covid19

Rig No: 17JZMEC0176 Class No:08

Date: 01/08/2020
Q. 1 Engaging in a legal contract a formal and professional commitment. As an engineer
you will be required to negotiate and commit projects through legal contracts. Explain
briefly how the legal contract elements can help you negotiate and commit a successful
legal contract.
Elements of legal contract:
1. Offer and acceptance
2. Consideration
3. An intention to create legal relations
4. Legal capacity
5. Legality
6. Formalities
Answer:
Contracts are the very essence of the way individuals and companies agree to exchange
practically everything that anyone can imagine. If one party owns something and another
party wished to use it, and is willing to pay for that right, a contract is the safest way to
make sure both parties are protected in the case of something going wrong. No matter
how minor or major the exchange, it all starts with an offer being made and that offer
being accepted.
The significance of contracts withinside the commercial enterprise surroundings cannot
be overstated. Contracts, specifically written ones, outline expectancies of each events
and the way terrible conditions could be resolved. Formal written contracts are legally
enforceable, and they could make certain the safety of rights and sources for absolutely
each person involved.
Not all contracts, however, are solidly constructed. Courts can void a settlement now no
longer handiest while they believe planned malfeasance through one or greater events,
however additionally while there is a loss of readability or while mistakes are determined
withinside the stipulations.
To assist make certain your settlement is ironclad, do not forget the subsequent factors
generally related to formal agreements.
Following are main Elements of the legal contract which can help Professional Engineer
negotiate and commit a successful legal contract.
1. Offer & Acceptance:

A contract is formed when an offer by one party is accepted by the other party. This offer
must not be mistaken with a willingness to deal or negotiate. An offer is a definite
promise to be upheld, provided the precise terms of the offer are accepted.
A person can withdraw the offer that has been proposed before that offer is accepted. For
withdrawal to be effective, the person who has proposed the offer must communicate to
the other party that the offer has been withdrawn. Conversely, acceptance must be
unequivocal and communicated to the other party.
Offers can really cover anything, from a verbal agreement to provide a service, such as
housesitting, to a detailed contract with legal terminology that one may find in an
agreement to transfer real estate. It is more than a promise, because it must be made with
the understanding that what is being agreed to will be legally binding. It can be for the
sale of goods, a pledge to perform a service, or even a promise not to engage in an
activity. The more complex the agreement, the greater the likelihood will be that each
party would engage legal counsel to negotiate the contract.
Acceptance is the final agreement of both parties to consent to the terms of the offer.
While it is common for the terms of the offer to be negotiated before acceptance, if it can
be shown that through conduct and communications that the parties did in fact intend to
agree to the final terms of the contract, then formal acceptance of an offer is not required
for it to be legally binding.
2. Consideration

Something of value was promised in exchange for the specified action or nonaction. This
can take the form of a significant expenditure of money or effort, a promise to perform
some service, an agreement not to do something, or reliance on the promise.
Consideration is the value that induces the parties to enter the contract.
The existence of consideration distinguishes a contract from a gift. A gift is a voluntary
and gratuitous transfer of property from one person to another, without something of
value promised in return. Failure to follow through on a promise to make a gift is not
enforceable as a breach of contract because there is no consideration for the promise.
Consideration is the bargained-for exchange of a “legal detriment” between the
contracting parties. Agreeing to a “legal detriment” means agreeing to do something that
one is not obligated to do or to agree to refrain from doing something that one has the
legal right to do. The latter type of consideration is known as a “forbearance.”
Consideration is one of the fundamental building blocks of an enforceable contract.
Though the rule is nuanced and can be analyzed on many different levels, the basic
principle is that each party must agree to incur a legal detriment so that the agreement is
considered “bargained for” and thus enforceable.
3. An intention to create legal relations

Intention to create legal relations is part of elements in contract. Intention to create legal
relations is defined as an intention to enter a legally binding agreement or contract.
Intention to create legal relations is one of the necessary elements in formation of a
contract. It is because, intention to create legal relations consists of readiness of a party to
accept the legal sequences of having entered into an agreement. Intention to create legal
relations is a motion of every contracting party must have the necessary intention to enter
a legally binding contract.
There are a few concepts of intention to create legal relations. Intention to create legal
relations also means an intention to be serious about agreement significance:
a) The contracting parties mind will be obvious to enter a serious contract
When two parties decided to enter in the environment of a contract, their mind will
understand the contents of the contracts. This is due to their ‘intention’ to be consenting
mind which both of the parties must agree. If there is no agreement by both of the parties,
it may make the contact being a void agreement. Thus, both contracting parties will
enable to be serious into the contract.
b) If there is no intention to create legal relations the contract would not be enforceable,
legal, and binding
Intention to create a legal relation is one of the essential elements of contract. So, if there
is no intention to create a legal relation, the contract can be assumed as a not legal. Due to
that, the contract may not be enforceable because there is no intention to create legal
relations at the beginning which not making contracting parties to be legally binding.
c) Without intention to create legal relations, the parties cannot sue each other
With no intention to create legal relations, it may cause the contracting parties are not
being legally binding and this circumstance may cause the contract is enforceable.
Therefore, when the contract is enforceable, the contracting parties cannot sue each other,
and this will spoil their business crisis. This will make the contracting parties hard to
enquire their justice.
d) Without intention to create legal relations the contract may become a mere promise
e) Without intention to create legal relations the contract may lack the binding effect
Besides that, when there is no intention to create legal relations, it will make the contract
or agreement become less powerful due to whether one or both of the parties does not
have a consent mind. So, if the contract lack of binding effect, it will cause the difficulty
to the party involved in future.
Domestic and social agreements of intention to create legal relations can be broken down
into three groups which are firstly commercial or business relations, secondly social
friend’s relations and thirdly family or domestic relations.
4. Legal capacity

The contracts that a business enters with its customers and other individuals are important
to its long-term growth and profitability. However, certain individuals lack the capacity
or legal ability to enter contracts. The law defines who these people are and prevents
other individuals and businesses from having valid contracts with those who are said to
lack capacity. Lack of Capacity May Void the Contract.
capacity to contract means the legal competence of a person to enter a valid contract.
Usually the capacity to contract refers to the capacity to enter into a legal agreement and
the competence to perform some act. The basic element to enter a valid contract is that
s/he much have a sound mind.
Certain class of people are exempted from the category of people who can enter contract:
1. infants/minors
2. insane
3. people under the influence of drug
4. bankrupt
5. enemy alien
If an agreement is made with someone who does not have the legal capacity to enter a
contract, that agreement or contract is said to be voidable. This means that the person
who lacks legal capacity is said to have misrepresented himself, even if unintentionally.
The other party to whom the misrepresentation was made may void the contract and all
its terms and conditions. This is called rescinding the contract. The courts may also
rescind or void a contract if legal capacity is not met. Once the contract is voided, it is no
longer binding, and the court will attempt to restore the parties to the position they were
in before the agreement was made. This means returning money and property where at all
possible.
5. Legality

The Fifth required element of a valid contract is legality. The basic rule is that courts will
not enforce an illegal bargain. Contracts are only enforceable when they are made with
the intention that they legal, and that the parties intend to legally bind themselves to their
agreement. An agreement between family members to go out to dinner with one member
covering the check is legal but is not likely made with the intent to be a legally binding
agreement. Just as a contract to buy illegal drugs from a drug dealer is made with all the
parties knowing that what they are doing is against the law and therefore not a contract
that is enforceable in court.
The extent to which a contract is illegal can affect how enforceable it is. Contracts
absolutely prohibited by law are void and therefore not enforced by courts, but there are
many less decisive ways in which a contract can be in breach of the law, including cases
where an otherwise legal contract is performed by one of the parties in an illegal manner.
Contracts cannot be created to govern the trade of illegal products or services. Each party
must show legal intent, meaning that they intend for the results of their agreement to be
completely legal.
6. Formalities

Legal formalities if any required for agreement such as registration, writing, they must be
followed. Writing is essential to affect a sale, lease, mortgage, gift of immovable property
etc. Registration is required in such cases and legal formalities in the relevant legislation
should be strictly followed.
General terms and structure of an agreement
There is no specific format that a contract must follow. Generally, it will include some
terms, either expressed or implied, that will form the basis of the agreement. These terms
may outline contract conditions or contract warranties.
Contract conditions are fundamental to the agreement. If the contract conditions are not
met it is possible to terminate the contract and seek compensation or damages.
When negotiating the contract terms make sure the conditions of the contract are clearly
defined and agreed to by all parties.
Contracts may follow a structure that can include, but are not limited to, the following
items:
• details of the parties to the contract, including any sub-contracting arrangements
• duration or period of the contract
• definitions of key terms used within the contract
• a description of the goods and/or services that your business will receive or provide, including key
deliverables
• payment details and dates, including whether interest will be applied to late payments
• key dates and milestones
• required insurance and indemnity provisions
• guarantee provisions, including director’s guarantees
• damages or penalty provisions
• renegotiation or renewal options
• complaints and dispute resolution process
• termination conditions
• special conditions
Q 2. Briefly explain the different categories of torts law. As an engineer,
how the tort law is important for your professional services?
Answer:
Torts Law:
Tort is conducting that harms other people or their property. It is a private wrong against
a person for which the injured person may recover damages, i.e. monetary compensation.
The injured party may sue the wrongdoer (tortfeasor) to recover damages to compensate
for the harm or loss incurred.
The conduct that is a tort may also be a crime. Some torts require intent before there will
be liability and some torts require no intent. In other words, in some cases, there is
liability for a tort even though the person committing the tort did not have any intent to
do wrong.
Categories of Torts Law:
There are basically three Categories of torts law.
1. Intentional tort:

An intentional tort is a civil wrong that occurs when the wrongdoer engages in intentional conduct
that results in damage to another. Striking another person in a fight is an intentional act that would
be the tort of battery. Striking a person accidentally would not be an intentional tort since there was
not intent to strike the person. This may, however, be a negligent act. Careless conduct that results
in damage to another is negligence.
The intent element of these torts is satisfied when the tortfeasor acts with the desire to bring about
harmful consequences and is substantially certain that such consequences will follow. Mere reckless
behavior, sometimes called willful and wanton behavior, does not give rise to the level of an
intentional tort.
If a person commits an intentional tort, this means that he intentionally violated a legal duty he owed
to the victim. This is different from a negligent tort, in which the tortfeasor violated the duty that
every member of society must exercise reasonable care in their actions with others.
The distinction between an intentional tort and a negligent tort is important for several reasons.
First, if an individual wants to sue for an intentional tort, he must prove that the tortfeasor acted
with "intent." This is a separate legal requirement that the plaintiff must fulfil, in addition to proving
all the other facts of the case and proving actual damage.
Strict liability, sometimes called absolute liability, is the legal responsibility for damage, or injury,
even if the person found strictly liable was not at fault or negligent – the injured party is not required
to prove fault – liability is strict. An example of strict liability is injury caused by wild animals in the
care of the tortfeasor; because the tortfeasor owns tigers, the tortfeasor is responsible for any injury,
without the need for the injured party to prove negligence.
2. Negligence:

Negligence is a failure to follow the degree of care that would be followed by a reasonably prudent
person to avoid foreseeable harm. A person can be negligent if he or she acts with less care
than a reasonable person would use under similar circumstances.
The reasonable person standard varies in accordance with the situation. The degree of care required
of a person is that which an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances.
This does not necessarily mean a degree of care that would have prevented the harm from occurring.
The elements required to establish negligence are the presence of duty, a voluntary act or failure to
act (an omission) that breaches the duty; proximate causation of harm; and damage (i.e., the breach
of duty causes harm to the plaintiff).
Torts involve duties created by law. Just because someone is hurt does not mean that someone else
must pay for the harm. There must have been a duty which has been breached. A plaintiff will not
be allowed to recover from a defendant if the defendant did not breach a duty that was owed to the
plaintiff. For example, if a burglar breaks into my house and trips over an item of furniture, I am not
liable to the burglar because I had no duty to him. However, if a guest in my house trips over a piece
of furniture, I may have a duty to that guest. The breach of duty must result from a voluntary act or
failure to act.
For someone to be legally responsible for damage, it is necessary to show that the wrongful
act was the proximate cause of the harm. The injury must be shown to be the natural and probable
result or consequence of the alleged act of negligence. The plaintiff must prove that the defendant´s
negligence proximately caused the Plaintiff’s injury. There may be more than one proximate cause of
an accident.
The final element of negligence is damages. A plaintiff may recover monetary damages to
compensate the plaintiff for economic losses such as lost wages and medical expenses. A plaintiff
may also recover non-economic losses such as for pain and suffering. The former is claimed on a
normal accounting basis, and the latter are at the discretion of the judge.
3. Strict liability torts\ Nuisance:

Nuisance or strict liability tort is a civil wrong, consisting of anything wrongfully done or permitted
that interferes with or annoys others in the enjoyment of their legal rights. It is anything that annoys or
disturbs the free use of one’s property or that renders its ordinary use or physical occupation
uncomfortable.
A nuisance is anything that interferes with the rights of citizens, the enjoyment of their property, or
their comfort. It is to be noted that an unreasonable interference with another person’s use and
enjoyment of his/her property is determined by the injury caused by the condition and is not
determined by the conduct of the party creating the condition.
A nuisance is differentiated from a trespass to land. A trespass is an invasion of a person’s interest in
the exclusive possession of their land, whereas a nuisance is an interference with the use and
enjoyment of the land and does not require interference with the possession.
A person injured by a nuisance can recover damages in an action at law for tort. Similarly, damages
can also be recovered for injury resulting from the legal use of a property, if such use substantially
damages the property of another.
Torts Law & Engineering Profession:
A tort is any civil wrong for which the law provides a remedy. Torts provide
compensation for injuries to persons and property caused by the fault of another. There
have always been concerns about whether there should be restrictions on tort law because
of disagreements about who should bear the financial burden for an injury and what
injuries should be compensable. Powerful lobbies of doctors, hospitals, insurance
companies and product manufacturers are always appealing to Legislatures to limit the
ability of the public to obtain compensation for violations of tort law. Consumers who are
injured by defective products, victims of sexual harassment, drunk drivers, and many
other civil wrongs are always under attack with their legal ability to be compensated for
their injuries.
The purpose of tort law is to restore someone who has been injured as a result of the
wrong of another to the condition they were prior to the injury by awarding them
monetary damages which will pay for medical expenses, lost wages and compensate for
physical and mental pain and suffering as a result of their injuries.
Beyond this, however, is the role that tort law plays in punishing the misconduct of
corporations and individuals who cause harm to others through negligent misconduct.
The existence of our tort law makes it more expensive for corporations and other
potential defendants to be negligent or have negligent policies. The fear of being in a
lawsuit and having a jury determine what damages have been incurred by a negligent
corporation or individual, causes those potential defendants to be more careful and to
have policies to prevent injury.
Without tort law, a corporation or individual may choose not to be more careful
particularly when being careful requires the expenditure of money. Trial lawyers
pursuing tort claims often uncover documents and cover-ups that can have deadly
consequences to unprotected individuals.