LLB 120 Lecture Notes - Meeting Of The Minds, E-Commerce, Public Auction
Week 2: 53 [Pt II], 55-67
Requirements of a contract
1. Offer and acceptance
2. Consideration – each party must give something in return for the promises made
3. Parties must intend the agreement to create legal relations
4. Agreement must be complete and certain
Satisfaction of these items = consensus, they intend their actions to have legal
consequences and have identified their obligations
Offer and Acceptance
• Must identify an offer by one party and acceptance by the other
• A contract comes into existence when acceptance of an offer is communicated to
the offeror
• Identification of offer and acceptance shows that the parties are ad idem (of one
mind) and their wills have come together to create binding obligations. This is when
obligations spring into existence
• Up until formation the parties are under no obligation and are free to withdraw from
negotiations
Offer
• An offer is an expression of willingness to enter into a contract on specified terms
• A proposal only amounts to an offer if the person making it indicates that an
acceptance is invited
• Offeree must be given the opportunity to choose between acceptance and rejection
– Heydon JA in Brambles Holdings Ltd v Bathurst City Council
• Crucial issue – whether it would appear to a reasonable person in the position of the
offeree that an offer was intended and that a binding agreement would be made
upo aeptae. It does’t atte hethe the offeo atually iteded to ake
an offer
• Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball – pg 57
Unilateral Contracts
• A contract in which the offeree accepts the offer by performing his or her side of the
bargain
• The consideration on the party of the offeree is completely executed by doing of the
very thing which constitutes acceptance of the offer
• Offer is accepted by performing an act, and the performance of that act is all that
the contract requires of the offeree – offeree performs all their obligations
• See Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball – pg 57, 58
• Because one party has performed his or her obligation at the time of formation, only
one party is ever under contractual obligation
• Must e a elatio of uid po uo this fo that etee the offeee’s at ad
offeo’s poise
Offers and Invitations to Treat
An invitation to treat is an invitation to others to enter into negotiations
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Requirements of a contract: offer and acceptance, consideration each party must give something in return for the promises made, parties must intend the agreement to create legal relations, agreement must be complete and certain. Satisfaction of these items = consensus, they intend their actions to have legal consequences and have identified their obligations. Offer and acceptance: must identify an offer by one party and acceptance by the other, a contract comes into existence when acceptance of an offer is communicated to the offeror. Identification of offer and acceptance shows that the parties are ad idem (of one mind) and their wills have come together to create binding obligations. This is when obligations spring into existence: up until formation the parties are under no obligation and are free to withdraw from negotiations. An invitation to treat is an invitation to others to enter into negotiations.