Page 5 of 42 Offer and Acceptance Contract Act, 1872 Md. Rizwanul Islam with thanks to Ms Himaloya Saha 1 Section 2 (h) defines a contract as “an agreement enforceable by law”. For a contract there must be: 1. An agreement and 2. The agreement shall be enforceable by law. All agreements are not enforceable by law and therefore, all agreements are not contracts. • Questions: Why may some agreements not be enforceable by law? Can contracts be oral? 2 Agreement Section 2(e) defines an agreement as “every promise and every set of promises forming the consideration for each other”. A promise is defined as an accepted proposal as Section 2(b) says “a proposal when accepted becomes a promise.” Thus, an agreement is an accepted proposal. In an agreement, there is a promise from both the sides. For example, A promises to deliver his radio to B and in return B promises to pay a sum of takas 500 to A. There is an agreement between A and B. 3 Conditions of Enforceability The conditions of enforceability are stated in Section 10. According to this Section, “all agreements are contracts if they are made by the free consent of parties competent to contract, for a lawful consideration and with a lawful object, and are not hereby expressly declared to be void.” There may be also be a requirement of writing and registration for some categories of contracts. 4 Essentials of a Valid Contract 1. The agreement should be between two parties. An agreement is the result of a proposal or offer by one party followed by its acceptance by the other. 2. The agreement should be between the parties who are competent to contract. 3. There should be a lawful consideration (generally) and lawful object in respect of that agreement. 4. There should be free consent of the parties when they enter into the agreement. 5. The agreement must not be one which has been declared by law to be void. 5 Proposal or offer Proposal has been defined in section 2(a) as follows: • “When one person signifies to another his willingness to do or abstain from doing anything with a view to obtaining the assent of that other to such act or abstinence, he is said to make a proposal.” 6 The willingness to do or abstain from doing something, i.e. the proposal or offer must be made with a view to obtain the assent of the other party thereto. For example, A’s willingness to sell his radio set to B for takas. 1000, if B accepts to purchase the same, amounts to proposal by A for the sale of the radio set. 7 Simple Example • Jack says to Sam, “I will sell you this book for £10”. • Sam says, “I agree”. • There is an offer and an acceptance. • Jack is the offeror. • Sam is the offeree. 8 Statement of Intention • If a person is simply stating her/his intention, then this is not an offer because the person may change her/his mind in the future. ☞The intention to be bound by the assertion is lacking. 9 Supply of Information • If you simply supply information, this is not an offer. • For example, you own a BMW car. •