FREE ESSAY ON CONTRACT LAW

CONTRACT LAW

PART I.
Introduction
England's contract law is consisted of several laws and they can not be written or at
least explained in a student's assignment, which is consisted of 1000 words. Despite that
I will try to outline the main points of the contact law and explain briefly what each
means. On the second point I will explain the little difference between the English
contact law with the equivalent contract law of my home country which is Cyprus. I wrote
little differences  because, Cyprus is following the English system concerning laws. 
The English contract
Offer and Acceptance
General principles
There are three basic essentials to the creation of contract which will be recognised and
enforced by the courts. These are: contractual intention, agreement and consideration. 
The Definition of Offer.
This is an expression of willingness to contract made with the intention (actual or
apparent) that it shall become binding on the offeror as soon as the person to whom it is
addressed accepts it.
An offer can be made to one person or a group of persons or to the world at large. The
offeror is bound to fulfil the terms of his offer once it is accepted. The offer may be
made in writing, by words or conduct.
Unilateral - some offers are purely one sided, made without the offeror's having any idea
whether they will ever be taken up and accepted, and thereby be transformed into a
contract. For example when an advertisement where a person is rewarding another one if he
finds his pet (which was lost). In this case the person who is making such an offer is
not sure whether this offer will be ever accepted.
Bilateral - The majority of offers are Bilateral. While it is not always true, most
people make an offer to one named offeree or a small group of parties. Most contracts are
made with both parties present on a face-to-face basis.
Invitation to treat
An invitation to treat made by one party to another is not an offer. An invitation to
treat is made at a preliminary stage in the making of an agreement, where one party seeks
to ascertain whether the other would be willing to enter into a contract and, if so, upon
what terms. To distinguish between an offer and an invitation to treat it is necessary to
look at the intention of the person making it. It is not an offer unless it was made with
the intention that it should be binding as soon as the person to whom it was addressed
communicates hi assent. Some examples of invitations to treat are:
Display of goods in shops
-  Advertisement (which can be of bilateral transaction or unilateral contract)
-  Ticket cases
-  Auction sales
-  Tenders
-  Subject to contract
Duration and termination of offer
An offer continues in existence, capable of acceptance until it is brought to an end. It
occurs in six ways
-  Revocation 
-  Rejection by the offeree
-  Lapse of time 
-  Occurrence of a terminating conditions
-  Death 
-  Insanity, incapacity, insolvency or impossibility
Acceptance
Definition
An acceptance is a final and unqualified acceptance of the terms of an offer. Unless it
can be shown that there was such an acceptance, then there is no contract. Where the
offeror sets out his offer and request an answer of yes or no from the offeree, it is not
difficult to determine whether or not there has been an acceptance. In addition to being
a firm and unqualified acceptance of all the terms of the offer, the fact of acceptance
must normally be communicated to the offeror before there is concluded contract. The
rules as to communication are following:
-  Acceptance by conduct
-  Counter-offers
-  Request for information 
-  Clarification of implied terms 
-  The battle of forms
-  Acceptance of tenders
-  Conditional acceptance
-  Acceptance in ignorance of an offer
-  Motive for the acceptance 
-  Cross-offers
Communication of acceptance
The general rule
An acceptance must be communicated to the offeror. Until and unless the acceptance is so
communicated, no contract comes into existence. 
Some exceptions to the general rule are:
1. Where the offeror expressly of impliedly waives the requirement that acceptance be
communicated.
2. Where the offeror is estopped from denying that the acceptance was communicated.
3. Where the acceptance is communicated to the offeror's agent and that agent has
authority to receive that acceptance on behalf of his principal.
4. Where the postal rule applies, in which case the acceptance can be effective before it
is in fact received by the offeror.
The ability to make a contract.
The contract is valid when the person who signs the contract understands and realises
what is in the contract using his common sense.
Consent
One main point for the contract to be valid is the consent . Briefly consent is when
contract is made should not be done under the following circumstances:
-  Coercion
-  Undue influence
-  Frand 
-  Misrepresentation
-  Mistake 
In case any of the above mentioned are in active the contract is being voided.
Consideration
Definitions
A valuable consideration in the sense of the law may consist either in some right,
interest, profit or benefit accruing to the one party, or some forbearance, detriment,
loss or responsibility given suffered or undertaken by the other. (Defined by Lush J in
Curie v Misa (1875) LR 10 Ex 153 at p162). In other words consideration is characterised
as the trading item which is given for the purchase of the promise of the other party.
The consideration must be specific and not uncertain. That means that the consideration
must be legal for the contract to be valid.
Four principles
1. Consideration must move from the promisee;
2. Consideration need to move to promisor;
3. Past consideration is not good consideration;
4. Consideration must be sufficient but need not be adequate;
Promissory estoppel
Estoppel is a concept known both to law and to equity. Promissory estoppel is a type of
equitable estoppel, but the two terms are not interchangeable, because the latter also
embraces proprietary estoppel, a more certain and long - established concept. Promissory
estoppel is not concerned with facts but with promises and intentions. 
PARTII.
The comparison of the English contract law with the equivalent in Cyprus.
As I mentioned in my introduction Cyprus is following the English system so laws are the
same except of few differences. Briefly I will outline and some of the main differences;
but before I will give you a brief summary on Cypriot law of contract.
The contract law started in that Cyprus in 1931. Before we used the mejelle law. The
contract law (CAP.149) is almost a copy of the Indian Contract Act IX/1872. The article 2
of the contract law is saying as a general rule that Cyprus must follow the system that
is held in England.
Some of the differences that we have with the English contract law are that in England
decisions are taken with the common law and the equity. In Cyprus equities are existing
but they are coded. Also the decisions in Cyprus are based upon decisions taken from the
court. Another difference is that in Cyprus a person under the age of 18 is not allowed
to make a contract. The difference is that in England the same person (under 18) can make
a contract but if the contract is supporting him (the teen).
CONCLUSION
To conclude with I would like to say that constituting a contract is not a simple job. It
requires knowledge and understanding. To make a contract you have to understand the
objectives of it clearly before doing it. But people who understand the objectives of a
contract are most likely to make a beneficial contract.
Obviously reading this assignment can not make you an expert of the English law but at
least to give you some basic points.