Mutual Consent
Mutual Consent is the contract law requirement that both parties to contract my expressly communicate their willingness to enter into a contractual relationship and be bound by the contractual terms.
Consideration is usually the object of exchange in contracts. Consideration is the benefit that both parties in contract negotiate. Accordingly, consideration is generally in the form of monetary value.
Legality of object implies that the subject matter of the contract must not be something that is illegal. Accordingly, the legality of the object determines the validity of the contract as courts cannot enforce illegal contracts. The contract becomes voidable when the object is criminal, tortious, or contravenes public policy.
Capacity refers to a party’s legal ability to enter a contractual relationship either by looking into his age, state of mind, among other factors. Legality is central to the validity of a contract because a contract that involves either party that lacks capacity is voidable.
Express contract is a contract in which both parties communicate their willingness to enter a contractual relationship either orally or through wring. Besides, an express contract also defines in words, the terms of the contract.
Implied contract, on the other hand, implies a contract that infers party`s agreement according to their conduct. The implied contract parties do not communicate their intentions to contract, but the same can be inferred from how they conduct themselves. Implied conducts are legally binding and derive from the actions of the parties or circumstances around the parties.
Bilateral contract is an agreement between two parties who creates a contractual relationship and under which each party is bound to the other in such a relationship. In bilateral contracts, both parties make promises and create contractual obligations.
Unilateral contract is a binding contract in which only one party makes or communicates a willingness to create a contractual obligation and relationship with another. The offeror commits to indemnify the other party only when a given event has taken place. As such, contractual obligation only lies with the offeror.
A valid contract is one that complies with all the legal requisites of an enforceable contract such as capacity, legality offer, and acceptance, among others. It binds both parties.
Promissory estoppel is a doctrine in contract law that enforces non-contractual promises. The doctrine stipulates that when a person makes a promise to another, and the other party acts on that promise, then the party that made the promises must fulfill it if failure is likely to occasion injury to the party that acted on the said promise.
Void contract implies a lack of a contract. It is an unenforceable and invalid agreement because it fails to comply with all requirements of enforceable contracts. A void contract flouts most rules such as capacity, the legality of subject matter, and lack of acceptance.
Voidable contract is a legally binding and valid contract that one party has the option to either accept or reject. Only one party bears contractual obligations in voidable contracts and can repudiate the contract and render it void.
Unenforceable contract implies that the contract is valid and meets all requirements, but the courts lack the ability to enforce them against either party. The parties in unenforceable contracts have the liberty to perform their contractual obligations or not, either in which the courts cannot compel compliance.
Executed contract refers to a contract in which parties have discharged their contractual obligations and duties to each other.
Executory contract refers to a contract that awaits full performance from the parties. It may imply that the parties have performed their obligations in part and are yet to complete the whole performance.