An offer must be accepted to create a valid contract. If an offer is made by the offeror (the party making the offer) and it is rejected by the offeree (the party responding to the offer), there is no contract. Acceptance is a 'meeting of the minds' where the parties agree to shared terms of a contract.
Offer and Acceptance Definition in Contract Law
An offer is a clear and specific proposal made by one party (the offeror), with the intention of being accepted by another party, (the offeree), while acceptance is the unconditional agreement to the terms of the offer.
Elements -- Consideration and Mutual Assent
Contracts arise when a duty comes into existence, because of a promise made by one of the parties. To be legally binding as a contract, a promise must be exc… Governing Laws
Contracts are mainly governed by state statutory and common (judge-made) law and private law (i.e. the private agreement). Private law principally includes … Remedies For Breach of Contract -- Damages
If the agreement does not meet the legal requirements to be considered a valid contract, the “contractual agreement” will not be enforced by the law, and the … Offer and acceptance is a fundamental rule in
contract law stating that for a contract to be legally formed and binding, there must be an “
offer” and then an “acceptance”. In other words, one party must offer to bind himself or herself to a contract and another party must accept the terms and conditions of the exchange.
An offer must be accepted to create a valid contract. If an offer is made by the offeror (the party making the offer) and it is rejected by the offeree (the party responding to the offer), there is no contract. Acceptance is a ‘meeting of the minds’ where the parties agree to shared terms of a contract.
Offer and acceptance are generally recognised as essential requirements for the formation of a contract, and analysis of their operation is a traditional approach in contract law. The offer and acceptance formula, developed in the 19th century, identifies a moment of formation when the parties are of one mind.
A contract will only be capable of being enforced if an offer has been accepted and an agreement reached between the parties. In contract law, acceptance is an
unqualified expression of agreement to all the terms set out in the offer.
