Consumer Protection Laws in Australia
Added on 2020-03-28
16 Pages3252 Words111 Views
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Running head: BUSINESS LAW ASSIGNMENTBusiness Law AssignmentName of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor Note
1BUSINESS LAW ASSIGNMENTTable of ContentsQuestion 1........................................................................................................................................2Issue (a)........................................................................................................................................2Rule..............................................................................................................................................2Application..................................................................................................................................4Conclusion...................................................................................................................................5Issue (b).......................................................................................................................................5Rule..............................................................................................................................................5Application..................................................................................................................................6Conclusion...................................................................................................................................7Question 2........................................................................................................................................7Reference list.................................................................................................................................12
2BUSINESS LAW ASSIGNMENTQuestion 1Issue (a)Whether the parties have entered into a contract with each otherRule An agreement that is enforceable in the court of law may be defined as a contract. Theparties to a contract are legally bound by the contractual terms of the contract. A valid contractmust include an offer, acceptance, consideration, legal intention, capacity and certainty. An offercommences the process of formation of a contract and the terms offered must be certain andspecific in nature1. The person making an offer is called the offeror and the person accepting theoffer is known as the offeree. A valid acceptance of a valid offer is essential to render a contractas valid and enforceable in the court of law. an offer should be accepted as per the termsproposed by the offeror and if the offeree incorporates any new or additional terms, it is knownas counter-offer which invalidates the original offer.An offer is said to be accepted if such acceptance is communicated to the offeror. Postalrule is an exception to this rule of communication of acceptance. It is considered as an alternativemeans of accepting an offer. According to the postal rule, when an acceptance of an offer iscommunicated by post, the acceptance is complete as soon as the letter of acceptance is postedand out of the control of the person posting such acceptance. This rule was established for thefirst time in Adam v Lindsell, where the court held that after the letter is posted, even if the letteris lost or misled, it should be considered as a communication of a valid acceptance.1 Coteanu, Cristina. Cyber consumer law and unfair trading practices. Routledge, 2017.
3BUSINESS LAW ASSIGNMENTIn the modern era, with the advancement of technologies, majority of communicationstakes place by email, telex, telephone and other instantaneous means. The court held in EntoresLtd v Miles Far East Corporation [1955] that postal does not applies for instantaneouscommunications as the contract is complete where the acceptance is received by the offerorwhich unlike the postal rule as the responsibility is on the offeree to communicate the acceptanceto the offeror effectively. Acceptance communicated through instantaneous mode ofcommunication must be acknowledged which is not required under the postal rule whereacceptance is communicated once the acceptance is posted. There is no specific legislation to determine whether email is an instantaneouscommunication mode to which general acceptance rule could apply. Internet and computers maytake some time to respond2. With respect to the timing issues in electronic transactions, emailsare treated differently, as compared to websites, which is considered as one of the modes ofinstantaneous communication and websites unlike email, relies on actual space and time betweenaccepting and sending the contract. Since email transactions involve failure and delays while sending and receiving themessages, parties do not enjoy instantaneous communication between each other as wasobserved in Chwee Kin Keong v Digilandmall.com Pte ltd [2005] SGCA 2. Therefore, postalrules should be applied for communication made through emails. Since dispatch is a vital pointto apply the postal rule in the context of email. Since acceptance is said to be valid once it isbeyond the possession and control of the offeree under the postal rule, the acceptance messagesent through email shall be considered to be beyond the control or possession of the offeree whenthe offeree connects to the computer and presses the sent button. 2 McKendrick, Ewan. Contract law: text, cases, and materials. Oxford University Press (UK), 2014.
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