A contract refers to an agreement
A contract refers to an agreement that facilitates responsibilities that are recognized and put in place by the law. The initial requirement of a contract is that the parties must first reach a pact and this agreement is attained when one party initiates a proposal that is suitable for a different party after which the party accepts it (Billy 2016). The courts are supposed to apply an objective test to determine whether the parties have got into a contract. There is a general policy that contracts be formed informally but most pacts can be orally established, and in some instances, no verbal or written message is required at all. Therefore, informal interchange of assurances can still be obligatory and become lawful as a written agreement. However, there are legal omissions to this law such as contracts of assurance are prerequisite to be demonstrated in writing (Billy 2016).
Vitiation through Misinterpretation and Mistakes
Besides, important to note is the fact that parties can reach a contract but the question can arise on the presence or non-existence of some factor the occurrence or non-occurrence of some events has ruined the source which the contract was reached, and this can lead to a discharge in the agreement or vitiation. Vitiation can take place when there is a misinterpretation, or a mistake happens. Mistakes are classified into different forms such as common mistake, mutual mistake, and unilateral mistake (Billy 2016). A common mistake takes place when all the parties make errors that affiliate with a vital act. For instance, an agreement can be invalid at conjoint law when the subject of the agreement is no longer present such as the sales of specific merchandises that maybe have already perished. Unilateral mistake, on the other hand, takes place when only a single party is incorrect, and this may include mistakes to the conditions of the agreement or the mistake to the distinctiveness of parties. Mutual mistake is the one which all the parties flop to comprehend each other (Billy 2016).
Agreement Settlement through Frustration
An agreement may also be settled in the doctrine of frustration if unforeseen events occur and which makes the undertaking of the agreement difficult, or dissimilar from what was anticipated. Frustration will not take place where the fault of one party caused the frustrating event. Similarly, the frustration will not take place if the parties established an express setting up for the event in their agreement. The contract cannot be lightly beseeched and cannot permit a party to discharge from a wicked bargain. According to the rule, frustration releases the parties from obligations of prospect undertakings.
Key Constituents of a Contract
As Simon’s lawful counselor, it is my responsibility to let him know how to start an agreement with another individual by taking into account all four key constituents of a contract, and how to correctly achieve all contract conditions that are decided upon by both individuals during the stage of concession. I will also let Simon know about the lawful penalties that may occur if he does not abide by the contract on his side of the contract. To create an endorsed lawful contract, it must encompass four major mechanisms which include;
Offer
The offer factor of creating an agreement constantly covers an offeror and an offeree (in this scenario Simon is the offeror establishing the offer to Kim whereas Kim is the offeree that is in receipt of side of the offer). The offer is one of the most critical divisions of the agreement itself for some motives. The offer is essentially a vibrant statement on the conditions on which both indivdiuals are eager to do trade with each other, which is why making a flawless offer is very significant in to make ensure both individuals are on the same page and are completely gratified with the consequences of the agreement so Simon will have to have a discussion with Kim to notify her on all the agreement terms such as operating hours, salary, and extent of agreement, Simon also has to make it apparent that he comprehends Kim’s requirements such as offering a guard for security. An offer can be deliberated and discussed in various ways such as talking on the phone, meeting face to face, or communicating through email, though, establishing an offer is one thing whereas accommodating it and lawfully presiding over it is a whole other thing. The reason behind this is that many papers needs to be signed in the processby both parties.
Acceptance
Acceptance is when the offeree reach agreement to be bound by the conditions of the offer brought in place by the offeror. In order for the offeror to confirm agreeing an offer they must accomplish three things, the first one is to make certain they agree to take ALL terms of the offer while deliberate that after the papers are signed, they cannot change parts of the offer to their predilection in the prospect, nevertheless, there is the option of making a another, counteroffer to the offeror which is essentially a second sovereign offer that will not upset the first offer. To accept an offer, the offeror also needs to converse his approval decisively to the offeror, and this can be undertaken with the help of electronic communication such as phones, emails, or even FAX machines. In this circumstance, I would counsel Simon to use written message to communicate the proposal to Kim and then Kim could also reply by agreeing or rejecting the offer through written communication as well. I would also like to direct Simon to be conversant of the interval of time, an indication, Simon should be conscious of the correct time the offeree should be given to admit the offer so he could give the offeree a time limit for a reaction on offer. The process would save Simon a lot of time.
Consideration
Consideration is a bargain for swapped worth, for example, individual A provides individual B money to clean his car, person B may ponder this offer and decide to agree with it depending on individual A’s assurance to recompense him cash if he cleans his car. Simon gives Kim cash in exchange for Kim being an evaluator on his TV show, Kim may contemplate this proposal and take it for the recompense, or Kim may decide on turning down the proposal.
Intention
The intent is when all the parties have the purpose of obligating completely to the obligatory agreement and are fully conversant of the tasks and dangers that will take place if either party does not put up with by the agreement. Having intent when initiating an agreement is very significant as it is a gauge that all parties have the necessary steadfastness to pledge in despite of being aware that of the penalties that go together with not enduring by the contract conditions. The motive why people sign agreements with necessary penalties if they do not obligate to display a sense of expertise as well as ensuring the other individual commits on their part of the bargain.
Contract Breach and Damages
Business agreements establish definite mandatory terms that must to be achieved by all parties who arrived and are tangled to the agreement (James 2013). Lawfully, inability to meet any of the conditions highlighted in the agreement by each party is referred to as a contract breach. A breach takes place when a party flops to fulfill his agreement duties and responsibilities on time or at all. When an agreement is breached, the member of the party that has been affected may desire to have the agreement lawfully applied on their conditions or can even seek monetary remedies for any loss that the breach may have instigated. At this instant as Kim was in recent times a casualty of a burglary in France, one of her terms on accepting the offer was that Simon offers her with a guard that would escort her at all times. Now as I’m confident that Simon will and can deliver Kim with such a service, I would like to let him know of the penalties of not keeping up to this portion and breaking the contract. Kim may decide to take permissible action to pursue remedies for an clear breach of an agreement from Simon’s behalf or may even decide to do away with the contract, but, all of these would have to be in law court in front of a magistrate. Kim would outdo Simon in that she was capable of accomplishing all of her agreement conditions while Simon failed to accomplish all of his (James 2013).
Damages and Equitable Remedies
The supposition to this work evidently states nature of legal agreements and the moments that supplement them when the conditions are not contented by any party, In agreements the privileges of every party are secured and can be lawfully applied in various of ways if one or the other party fails to meet the conditions pointed out, in other words, the lawbreaker of the agreement will face the legitimate obligations of their faults (Jeffree 2017, p. 3). By the English Contract Law 1999, all the conditions of the contract should be binding and fused in the agreement to start legal associations between both parties (James 2013). Simon is now conversant with the steps that should be put in place to officiate an appropriate agreement and gratify by its guidelines. Also, Simon now is aware that the dangers of not meeting his part towards Kim’s agreement conditions (providing a bodyguard) can lead him to face legal results in court of law.
However, it is important for Simon to be conversant with the damages and remedies that are intended to compensate Kim as a result of a breach of contract or the loss that she suffered. For this to take place, Kim must be able to demonstrate and establish substantial damages for breach of agreement (Jeffree 2017, p. 5). Kim must be able to demonstrate that the definite loss has been as a result of the break and the form of loss and be recognized as giving prerogative to recompense. Finally, the loss must not be too secluded. Simon must be aware that a break of agreement can be proven even if there is no definite loss but in such an instance there will be a privilege to only insignificant damages (John 2016). The underlaying standard is to put Kim monetarily as near as conceivable as into the situation he would have been in had the potential been accomplished. As an overall law, compensations are grounded in a loss to the plaintiff and not advance to the defendant. It means that damages and remedies are put in place to offer benefits to the party that is aggrieved, and in this case, Kim is the injured party.
Equitable Remedies
Occasionally, remedies may every so often be an insufficient, and that calls for equitable remedies that are put in place to make certain that the individual that is injured is not treated unreasonably by being narrowed to the conjoint rule remedy of compensations. For instance, when damages are considered insufficient, the law court is likely to create an order for precise performance that compels the individual in breach to accomplish the conditions of the agreement. The courts can only award precise performance if under all the conditions it is reasonable to do so. However, specific performance can be denied if the plaintiff has acted unfairly on the notion that the plaintiff comes to impartiality with clean hands. A law court may also stop a party from obliging a break of an agreement to accomplish the conditions of an agreement by an injunction. The injunctions may be interlocutory ones that are put in place to control the location of the party pendent a full trial of a difference or permanent (John 2016).
References
Billy Sexton. 2016. Contract Law – Offer " Acceptance. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/stage/study-help/contract-law-offer-acceptance. [Accessed 1 March
Jeffree lecture 3-6.( 2017) power-point presentation.
James Normington. 2013. 10 key facts about English contract law. [ONLINE] Available at: https://seqlegal.com/blog/10-key-facts-about-english-contract-law. [Accessed 1 March 2018].
John Cartwright. 2016. An Introduction to the English Law of Contract for the Civil Lawyer. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.bloomsburyprofessional.com/uk/contract-law-9781509902910/. [Accessed 1 March 2018].
