ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF CONTRACTS
A contract can be defined as an agreement intended to be binding on the parties. It can be oral or in writing.
For a contract to be valid, the following essential requirements must be satisfied:
• There must be offer and acceptance.
• It should be lawful.
• The contracting parties must have contractual capacity to enter into the contract.
• There must be animus contrahendi (serious intention to contract).
• The parties must have consensus ad idem (meeting of the minds/ mutual consent).
• Contract must be clear and unequivocal.
• The merx (the thing or things) which is the subject matter of a contract of sale.
• In certain circumstances it must be in writing, eg instalment sale of land.
For written contracts, there is a general rule, often known as the caveat subscriptor rule to the effect that a party to a contract is bound by his signature whether or not he has read and understood the contract, and this will be so even if he has signed in blank or it is obvious to the other party that he did not read the document. It is thus prudent for one to seek legal representation before entering into a contract.
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