Section2(c), ‘consent given by a person in the same sense
in which the offeror has taken the substance of the proposal presented by him to the former.
Section 5: A contract shall be deemed to have been
concluded once the person to whom a proposal has been presented by another person communicates his consent thereto.
For: BBA KUSOM ONLY
Acceptance may be defined as an unconditional assent, communicated by the offeree to the offeror, to all terms of the offer, made with the intention of accepting. Whether an acceptance has in fact occurred is ascertained from the behavior of the parties, including any correspondence that has passed between them. Acceptance is the act of assenting by the offeree to an offer. In other words, it is the manifestation by the offeree of his willingness to be bound by the terms of the offer It is " to an offer what a lighted match is to a train of gunpowder. It produces something which cannot be recalled, or undone". This means when the offeree signifies his assent, to the offeror, the offer is said to be accepted. Rules Regarding Acceptance Acceptance can be express or implied. Acceptance can be made by specific person (in case of specific offer) or by any one (incase of general offer) Acceptance must be in reliance of offer (offeree must know offer). Acceptance must be absolute and unqualified. Conditional assent is not acceptance. Counter offer is not an acceptance rather rejection of an offer. Acceptance must be communicated. The offeror may prescribe the method of acceptance. Remaining silence doesnot amount to acceptance Who can Accept? Acceptance of Particular Offer: When an offer is made to a particular person, it can be accepted by him alone. if it is accepted by any other person, there is no valid acceptance. The rule of law is clear that if you propose to make a contract with A, B cannot substitute himself for A without your consent. For eg X made an offer to Y by post. Unfortunately the letter reached to Z and Z accepted the offer. What is the position of this acceptance? Acceptance of General Offer Offer may be addressed to one particular person or group of persons or the world at large, as in an offer of a reward. If an offer is made for the world at large, such offer can be accepted by any person. Thud in the case of Carlill vs Carbolic Smoke Ball Co.(1893), the Smoke Ball Co advertised that they would pay 100 pound to anyone who contracted influenza after using their smoke ball for a specified period. Carlill contracted influenza after having purchased and used one as directed and claimed the reward. The Co argued that it was impossible to contract with the whole world. This argument was rejected by the court and it was held that the advertisement constitutes the general offer to the whole world at large and can be accepted by anyone. Acceptance may be express or implied.
It is express when it is communicated by
words spoken or written or by doing some required act. It is implied when it is gathered from surrounding circumstances or the conduct of the parties. Implied acceptance E.g. (a) At auction sale, R is the highest bidder. The auctioneer accepts the offer by striking the hammer on the table. This is implied acceptance. (b) A widow promised to settle some immovable property on her niece if the niece stayed with her in her residence till her death. The niece stayed with her in her residence till her death. Held, the niece was entitled to property. This is also an implied acceptance. The offeree must accept the exact terms proposed by the offeror absolutely, without any qualification and unconditionally. In other words without introducing any new terms which the offeror has not had the opportunity to consider. The introduction of new terms is referred to as “Counter Offer” and its effect in law is to bring to an end the original offer. Harvey v Facey Acceptance must be in reliance of offer (offeree must know offer).
A person purporting to accept an offer
must be aware that the offer exists. For example, if B has found A’s dog and return s it out of kindness, and if B later learns of a reward offered for the dog, B cannot then claim the reward. The necessary connection between offer and acceptance is missing. Acceptance must be absolute and unqualified Acceptance must be made as it is made without any qualification (unchanged of offer) without further negotiation between the parties. If changes are made in offer and accepted, it shall be consider as counter offer. Conditional assent is not acceptance Conditional assent is not binding unless and until the offeror agrees to the condition- the condition then has to be fulfilled. A offered: Will you buy my bike for Rs 50000 B replied: Yes I will buy your bike if I manage finance from the bank Result: no acceptance The offeror may prescribe the method of acceptance. It shall be at the discretion of the offeror to prescribe the mode or method of acceptance; if so, acceptance must comply with the requirements before an agreement is completed. Remaining silence does not amount to acceptance A wrote to be, ‘ I offer to buy your bike for Rs 500000. If you do not reply by the end of this will, I consider that you have accepted my offer and I expect that you will deliver the bike at the beginning of next week’. It must be Communicated to the offeror: section 7 As a general rule, acceptance will not be effective unless communicated to the offeror by the offeree or by someone with his or her authority (Eg agent, executor, legal representative) Thus, just as offer has to be communicated, the communication of acceptance should be made to the offeror. To conclude a contract between the parties, the acceptance must be communicated in some perceptible form. There must be some external manifestation some outward expression, some word spoken or act done by the person to whom the offer is made which the law can regard as communication of his acceptance of the offeror. Thus mental acceptance or uncommunicated acceptance has no legal effect. A mere resolve or mental determination on the part of the offeree to accept an offer, when there is no external manifestation of intention to do so, is not sufficient even though consensus does arise. The moment the offeree(acceptor) decides to accept; but the law cannot take note of states of minds as such, unless as expressed and communicated It is axiomatic (evident without proof or argument) that acceptance of an offer cannot be inferred from silence Brogden v Metropolitan Railway Co. So it is necessary that the offeror should know that his offer is accepted, communication is must. In …………..A draft agreement relating to the supply of coal was sent to the manager of a rail way company for his acceptance. The manager wrote the word " approved" and put the draft in the drawer of his table intending to send it to the company's solicitor for a formal contract to be drawn up. Held : there was no contract. In this case even though manager of railway company accepts the offer but was not communicated to the offeror. The communication of acceptance are instantaneous (oral, telephone, telex), the contract will come into being when and where acceptance is received. Entores v Miles Far East Corp. CA 1955, it was held that a telex message sent out of office hours would not be regarded as instantaneous and the time and place of the formation of the contract would be determined by the intentions of the parties, sound business practice and possibly, on a judgement as to where the risk would lie Exceptions of communication Unilateral contracts: No requirement that acceptance should be communicated and the performance of stipulated act will constitute acceptance. Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball, the contract was binding eventhough the plaintiff did not notify the defendants of her intention to accept. It must be given within a reasonable time: If any time limit is specified, the acceptance must be given with in that time. If no time limit is specified, it must be given with in a reasonable time. Where offeror expressly or impliedly waived the need for communication Acceptance must be given before offer lapses or withdrawn. Silence does not amount to acceptance. Section 7(4)./ non communication of acceptance doesnot amount to acceptance. Felt House v Brindley, F wrote to his nephew offering to buy his horse for £30 15s and adding if I hear no more from you I consider the horse is mine. Brindley never replied Held: No contract. Offeror cannot impose contract liability on Offeree merely by proclaiming that silence amount to acceptance. When acceptance completes? In case of offeror: When the offeror receives the notice of acceptance: In case of offeree: when the offeror comes to know about the consent given to his offer.
Termination of Acceptance By giving notice before the communication of acceptance is received by the offeror. By death of the offeree if depends of offeree’s personal skill.