Introduction to Law Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Introduction to Law Coursework - Essay Example nt that must be fulfilled for a contract to be valid, we will discuss the law of contract in detail and then compare and contrast between an offer and an invitation to treat. For a contract to be enforceable contract, certain basic requirements must be presented. There must an agreement based upon genuine consent of the parties, supported by a consideration and made for a lawful object between competent parties. This paper will start by discussing what an offer is and later on compare and contrast between an offer and an invitation to treat. (Hussein, 1993) a) An offer may be made to a specific person or to any member of a group or to the world at large, but it cannot form the basis of a contract until it has been accepted by an ascertained person or group of persons. For example if A makes an offer to B, it is a specific offer and B is the only person who can accept it. But in many cases, it is immaterial to whom the offer is made. Offers made by advertisement are the commonest form of offers made to the world at large, and can be accepted by anyone just by acting on them. For example in the following case studied. The defendants offered a reward of  £100 to anyone who contracted influenza after using their smoke ball for a fortnight. The plaintiff, relying on the advertisement, bought the smoke ball and used it as prescribed, but still contracted influenza. She sued for the advertised reward. It was held that the advertisement was a true offer, and not a mere advertising puff, and the defendants were held liable to pay the reward. b) An offer may be made by a word of mouth, in writing or by conduct. The person making this offer is called the offeror, and the person to whom the offer is made is called the offeree. For example an offer made by conduct may be of a bus playing on a certain route. This is usually an offer by the owner of the bus to carry passengers at the published fare for various stages. The offer is accepted by conduct when the passenger