A contract is an agreement between parties , creating mutual obligations that are enforceable by law . The basic elements required for the agreement to be a legally enforceable contract are: mutual assent , expressed by a valid offer and acceptance ; adequate consideration ; capacity ; and legality .
A contract will only be legally binding upon the contracting parties if the following requirements are complied with: consensus, contractual capacity, certainty, possibility, legality and formalities. 39 The above requirements will be discussed next. 39Para 1 1 above.
A contract consists of a legally binding agreement or promise between parties. The agreement must be voluntary and made by competent parties. The promise or agreement must be supported by an exchange of something of value (e.g., goods or services). This exchange must be legal.
No contract is valid unless it contains three essential elements: (1) the names of the "parties," (2) the "subject matter," and (3) "consideration." Each of these terms is defined below. Term: The "term" is the length of time over which the contract will be valid.
The terms of the contract must be agreed upon mutually. An offer is made, understood by both parties, and accepted. Both parties must agree to the same thing. This is sometimes referred to as “a meeting of the minds.”