Flashcards on South African Contract Law: Formation and Validity
SA Contract Law: Formation and Validity Guide
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Contracts Inter Absentes
28 cards
Card 1
Question: What is the general rule (theory) governing acceptance in contracts inter absentes?
Answer: Information theory: consensus (contract) is reached when the offeror learns of the offeree’s acceptance.
Card 2
Question: What is the exception to the information (reception) theory for postal contracts?
Answer: Dispatch/expedition theory: contract forms when acceptance is posted (the moment of posting), not when received.
Card 3
Question: Which theory governs electronic contracts under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECTA)?
Answer: Reception theory: a contract is concluded when the acceptance enters the offeror’s information system and is capable of retrieval, even if not actuall
Card 4
Question: How does reception theory treat an acceptance email that enters the offeror’s system but isn't read?
Answer: The contract is formed when the acceptance enters and is retrievable in the offeror’s system, regardless of whether the offeror has read it.
Card 5
Question: What is the declaration theory of contract formation?
Answer: Declaration theory: contract forms when the offeree declares acceptance, regardless of the offeror’s knowledge of that declaration.
Card 6
Question: When can exceptions to the information theory arise?
Answer: Exceptions may arise by stipulation between parties (e.g., specifying postal acceptance) or by the nature of the communication method.
Card 7
Question: Why are disputes about where and when a contract was formed important?
Answer: They matter for evidence, jurisdiction, and timing of performance.
Card 8
Question: In the case facts where A offers B land by letter from Cape Town requiring acceptance by return post and B posts acceptance from Durban, when and wher
Answer: Under the postal/dispatch theory, contract formed when and where acceptance was posted—in Durban at B’s post office.
Card 9
Question: If A delays opening B’s posted acceptance letter and then sells the land to C, does A’s delay prevent contract formation with B?
Answer: No. The delay in opening does not affect contract formation; the contract was already formed when B posted acceptance.
Card 10
Question: In the scenario where X required email acceptance, Y’s email acceptance was lost by a server, and Y sent an SMS confirming acceptance, does a contract
Answer: Yes. Reception theory under ECTA governs; the SMS received by X constitutes valid acceptance and the contract forms when and where X’s system received