This document provides an overview of business law concepts including:
- Definitions of business as a profit-seeking enterprise and law as principles and regulations established by an authority.
- An explanation that business law establishes the rules that govern starting, managing, and closing a business.
- A definition of a contract as a legally enforceable agreement between private parties that creates mutual obligations, requiring elements like offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity and legality.
- An overview of essential contract elements like an offer, acceptance, intention to create a legal relationship, and consideration, as well as conditions that could invalidate a contract.
2. What is Business Law
Definition of Business
• A person, partnership, or corporation engaged in commerce, manufacturing, or a
service; profit-seeking enterprise or concern..
• The purchase and sale of goods in an attempt to make a profit.
Definition of Law
• The principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and
applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom and policies
recognized and enforced by judicial decision.
And………
• BUSINESS LAW DEFINE The law encompasses all of the laws that dictate how to form
and run a business. This includes all of the laws that govern how to start, buy,
manage and close or sell any type of business. Business laws establish the rules that
all businesses should follow
•
3. Law of Contract
• An agreement between private parties creating mutual obligations
enforceable by law. The basic elements required for the agreement
to be a legally enforceable contract are:
• mutual assent
• valid offer and acceptance
• adequate consideration
• capacity
• and legality
4. Essential Elements of a Contract
For a contract to be legally binding it must contain four essential elements:
• an offer
• an acceptance
• an intention to create a legal relationship
• a consideration (usually money).
However it may still be considered invalid if it:
• entices someone to commit a crime, or is illegal
• is entered into by someone that lacks capacity, such as a minor or bankrupt
• was agreed through misleading or deceptive conduct, duress, unconscionable
conduct or undue influence.
5. What is an Offer?
When two parties choose to enter into a contract, the first thing that occurs
is an offer. The offer can be money or another thing of value in exchange for
performance by the other party.
In technical terms, the offer is not really an offer until it is received by the
offeree.
The offer can come in the form of a:
• Letter
• Newspaper
• Website
• Fax
• Email
• Behavior
6. Essentials of a Valid Offer
There are two types of offer:
General offer: A general offer is made to a group of people
Specific offer., while a specific offer is specifically made to one person.
In order for an offer to be considered valid, it must meet the following
requirements:
• Must be communicated
• Must be made with the purpose of obtaining the assent of the other party
• Must be capable of establishing legal relation, meaning that consideration
must be a two-way process
• Must contain language that is certain and no element of uncertainty
7. Acceptance of Offer
If a person agrees to all the conditions of an offer made to him without placing any
counter-condition, the communication of such assent to the offeror is called an
acceptance, provided it's done with the intention of accepting the offer.
Rules of Acceptance
• There must be communication of acceptance from the offeree's side.
• You can withdraw an offer any time before it's accepted.
• Only the person to whom the offer is made can accept it. You are not bound by an
acceptance made by someone else on behalf of the offeree without his authorization.
• You may do away with the requirement of communicating the acceptance; sometimes this
may be obvious from the construction of the contract.
• If an offer requires a specific method of acceptance, it cannot be accepted through a less
effective method than what's specified.
• Silence does not constitute an acceptance.
• You must accept an offer in its entirety, without any changes. Modifying the offer in any
manner constitutes a counter-offer and nullifies the original offer.
• Usually, companies use a standard form contract in business.
• In all cases where the contracting parties have contemplated acceptance via post, the
contract is created at the moment you post the acceptance.
