Common Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Common Law - Essay Example The existence of a contract is not dependent upon it in being writing thus a contract can be existent if it oral or informal (Atiyah, 2006). The important decision in respect of contract can be said to be Smith v Hughes , wherein the courts laid down the subjective as well as the objective test was laid down so as to determine whether a contract was existent or not. The subjective test deals with the intention of the parties to the contract whereas the objective test looks into what was said by the parties and the intention of such things done (Peel, 2007). As far as an offer is concerned it is defined as willingness by one party who is called an offeror so as to bind itself on stated subject to acceptance by the other party who is known as the offeree. In respect of invitation to treat it has been defined as an inducement to the other to enter into negotiations and have a definite offer at the end thus an invitation to treat can be said to be a party’s readiness to start negotiations thus it cannot be said to be unequivocal thereby not having the intention that is required for an offer.. The main cases that differentiated between an offern and invitation to treat are Gibson v Manchester City Council and Storer v Manchester City Council . In Gibson the courts found an invitation to treat by looking into the correspondence between the parties and because of the fact that the price was left blank. However, in Storer the courts held that there was a contract which existed and the parties had moved beyond negotiations (Mackendrick, 2009). In respect of display of goods in shop the criterion laid down by the courts is that such display is held to be an invitation to treat (Fisher v Bell)4. However, there have been cases where the courts have found display of goods to constitute as an offer but this was due to the different nature of the case (Chapleton v Barry)5. It has been held that the use of word offer would not make the case an offer and thus the criterion needs to be established (Furmston et al, 2007). As far as posts are concerned there is a special rule that had been laid down in the case of Adams v Lindsell6, wherein it was stated valid acceptance takes place where a letter is validly posted The next step after an offer is that of acceptance the requirement which is an unequivocal and unconditional acceptance by the offeree of the terms and conditions of the offeror (Holwell