Offer & Acceptance (1) Flashcards
Where is Contract Law situated within?
Private law
What is the key difference between public and private law?
- Public law: legal system, relationship between people and public bodies like the Government (i.e., administrations, licenses, making regulations etc)
- Private law: legal obligations within individuals
- It depends on whether act(s) affect society as a whole or between two/more people
The public law is further divided into property law and the law of obligations. What are the categories for this?
- Contract (obligations people commit to, a binding promise)
- Tort (obligations people do not agree to, leading to breaching contracts)
- Restitution (unjust enrichments being reversed)
Give the precise definition of a ‘contract’.
Concluded between two or more parties agreeing to a set of obligations (that are legal). They are also voluntarily assumed and a vehicle for planned exchange.
What happens during a breach of contract of one party?
The other party can claim damages (compensation), placing the complainant into the position they would have been if the contract had been performed properly.
What are the three legal rules in contract?
1) How rules are formed and the contents behind it
2) Rules for enforcing these agreements
3) How the rules distinguish agreements that are enforced from those that are not
What are the two different roles involved in a contract?
- Offerer: person making the often
- Offeree: person accepting the offer
What are the four comprising elements involved in contracts?
- Offer
- Acceptance
- Consideration
- Intent to create legal relations (exchanging element)
At what point does the contract actually start?
When there is a formal, valid offer made between both parties
[Offer + Acceptance = Contract]
What does need for consensus ad idem mean?
“Meetings of the mind”
[An objectively assessed intention to be bound to the contact]
When a contract is made, what should you focus on? **
“A reasonable man”
[what is written in the contract and what is said by the parties] [not referring to thoughts and feelings]
Why are verbal/oral contracts harder than written ones?
Testimonies are needed for evidence (to know whether these offers were actually made, however these cases are very rare to occur)
HARTOG V COLIN & SHIELDS [1939 CASE]: Defendant offered to sell 30,000 Argentinian hare skins at price per pound despite previous negotiations being price per piece. This is clearly a mistake, but what is wrong?
The customer is capitalising off another person’s mistake and taking advantage of this
CENTROVNICIAL ESTATES PLC V MERCHANT INVESTORS ASSURANCE COMPY LTD [1983 CASE]: Negotiations were made over lease renewal, with previous being £126000 and now £65000. This could have been a mistake, but why is this wrong?
You can clearly see that there is a significant difference made between both prizes. Clearly the offerer must have known about this mistake, and questions could be raised regarding why they decided to capitalise off this mistake.
Define the term ‘offer’
“An expression to willingness to contract”; steps in pre-contractual process or negotiating steps
[PRIMARY FOCUS HERE IS INTENTION]
