Chapter 2 Offer and ACCEPTANCE(邀约与承诺).doc

Chapter 2 Offer and ACCEPTANCE 1 Offer Overview AGREEMENT = OFFER + ACCEPTANCE Offer ITT Definition 1.1 An expression of willingness to be bound on specific terms. 1.2 Must be certain. 1.3 Only the person or a member of the class to whom the offer has been made can accept it. 1.4 The offer must be open for acceptance at the time that acceptance is purported to occur. Invitations to treat 1.5 Offers must be distinguished from invitations to treat. (a) This is inviting someone to make an offer or commence negotiations. (b) It cannot be accepted. (c) Examples of invitations to treat: (i) items displayed on shelves: Pharmaceutical Society of G.B. v Boots Cash Chemists. (ii) items in shop windows: Fisher v Bell. (iii) usually adverts in newspapers: Partridge v Crittenden. Note however offers made to the whole world: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. (iv) auction notices. (v) prospectuses. (vi) mail order catalogues 1.6 Also be careful with other expressions that fall short of being offers eg (i) advertisers puff or boasts normally fall short of being promises or offers (ii) a response to a request for information is not normally an offer (iii) a declaration of intention to sell is not normally an offer. Overview METHODS OF TERMINATING AN OFFER Rejection Counter Conditional Lapse of Revocation Death Offer acceptance time 1.7 Termination of an Offer (a) Rejection: of an offer or refusal to accept. (b) Counteroffer: Hyde v Wrench. A counter offer is simply a new offer. (c) Conditional acceptance: Neale v Merrett. Contrast requests for information : Stevenson v McLean. A conditional acceptance is an attempt to introduce new terms into the offer and as such cannot be an acceptance. (d) Lapse of time: (an express or implied period) will terminate an offer: Ramsgate Hotel v Montefiore. (e) Revocation of an offer: (i) is effective any time before acceptance occurs Routledge v Grant; (ii) as long as it is actually communicated: Byrne v Van Tienhoven; (iii) can be com