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This issue involves the rules of proposal and acceptance in the law of contract. In order that, the courts may decide whether a legally binding contract exists, rules have been evolved to help identify an offer by which the offeror is willing to be bound and an unconditional acceptance by the offeree. Where both exist there is sufficient agreement for a legally binding contract to exist. An examination of some of these rules will reveal whether or not James had made a contract with any of the three people involved.<\/p>\n
First of all, we have to decided whether the advertisement is an offer or only an invitation to treat. Offer or proposal is necessary for the formation of an agreement. According to Section 2(a) of the Contracts Act 1950 states that when one person signifies to another his willingness to do or to abstain from doing anything, with a view to obtaining the assent of that other to the act or abstinence, he is said to make a proposal. Promisor or offeror must have declared his readiness to undertake an obligation upon certain terms. However, it is important to distinguish an offer from an invitation to treat. The invitation to treat is in law only an effort to invite people to make an offer. Moreover, an invitation to treat is not capable of being accepted as to form a binding agreement. In addition, in the case of Partridge v. Crittenden<\/a>,\u00a0[1<\/a>]<\/span>\u00a0Rooke v. Dawson,\u00a0[2<\/a>]<\/span>\u00a0and Grainger & Sons v. Gough,\u00a0[3<\/a>]<\/span>\u00a0those are advertisements of bilateral contracts are held not to be offers. In the case of Partridge v. Crittenden, where wild birds were advertised for sale in a newspaper classified advertisement column. At the end it was held that the advertisement was not an offer but an invitation to treat (Lee Mei Pheng, 2004).<\/p>\n