Business Law

Contract Law provides certainty in commerce, by regulating the start, finish, terms and expectations of transactions. Contract Law defines the rights of the parties, and asks what are the obligations of the parties.

The Dictionary of law (Law, 2019) defines a contract as “A legally binding agreement. Agreement arises as a result of offer and acceptance.” 

A number of requirements must be satisfied for an agreement to be legally binding.

• there must be an agreement between the parties
• that agreement must be supported by legal consideration
• the parties involved must have the legal capacity to enter into contracts
• the parties must genuinely consent to entering into the contract
• the parties must have intended to become bound by their promise or agreement
• the subject matter of the contract must be sufficiently clear and comprise terms that allow the agreement to operate, and
• the subject matter of the contract must not be prohibited by law.

Contract. (2018). In J. Law. (Ed.), A dictionary of law (9th ed.). Oxford University Press.   https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acref/9780198802525.001.0001