Introduction To Contract Act
Introduction To Contract Act
Introduction To Contract Act
1. Agreement: Every Promise or set of promises forming consideration for each other
2. Promise: A proposal when accepted by the other party
3. Proposal/OFFER: When one person signifies to another his willingness to do or abstain
from doing anything with a view to obtain assent from that other to such an act or
abstinence , he is said to have made a proposal
4. Contract; An agreement enforceable by law.
5. Essential requirements of contract:
a. Two parties
b. An agreement
c. Legal Obligation
6. Essential Element of valid contract:
a. Agreement
b. Competent parties: not
i. Minor
ii. Person with unsound mind
iii. Person disqualified by law
c. Free Consent: not obtained by:
i. Coercion
ii. Undue influence
iii. Misrepresentation
iv. Fraud
v. Mistake
d. Consideration
e. Legal Object
f. Not expressly declared void
g. Compliance with legal formalities
Classification of Contract
1. Enforceability
a. Valid: Contracts which satisfy all essential elements of a contract
b. Void: Contracts which are valid at the time of formation but becomes
unenforceable due tp certain reasons:
i. Supervening impossibility
ii. Voidable contract becomes void on the option of one party to repudiate the
contract
iii. A contingent contract to do or not to do something on the happening of an
event becomes void when the event becomes impossible.
c. Voidable: An agreement which is enforceable by law at the option of one or more
of the parties thereto, but not at the option of other or others.
d. Illegal: should be better called as Illegal agreements, are those contracts, the
object of which is illegal
e. Unenforceable: Valid contracts which cannot be enforced because of presence of
some technical defects, like non registration, non-stamping etc.
2. Creation
a. Express: Contracts entered into by the parties by words spoken or
written.
b. Implied: Contracts which come into being on account of conduct of parties and
not by their express words, written or oral.
3. Execution
a. Executed: Where both the parties to the contract have fulfilled their respective
obligations.
b. Executory: Where on or both the parties have still to perform their obligations
i. Unilateral: When one party has performed his obligation either before or
at the time of formation of contract
ii. Bilateral: A contract in which obligations of bot the parties are
outstanding at the time of formation of the contract.