Lack of legal capacity is a legitimate means to avoid accountability under an otherwise binding contract

LACK OF LEGAL CAPACITY IS A LEGITIMATE MEANS TO AVOID ACCOUNTABILITY UNDER AN OTHERWISE BINDING CONTRACT.
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(12th, March, 2011)
Table of Contents
 TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc288480384"
Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc288480384 \h
3
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Legal Capacity to Enter Into Contracts  PAGEREF _Toc288480385 \h
3
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Critical Elements of Contracts  PAGEREF _Toc288480386 \h
4
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc288480387"
Formal Contracts  PAGEREF _Toc288480387 \h
6
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc288480388"
Lack of Legal Capacity  PAGEREF _Toc288480388 \h
6
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc288480389"
Contract Law Exceptions  PAGEREF _Toc288480389 \h
7
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc288480390"
Entry of Minor In Contract  PAGEREF _Toc288480390 \h
8
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc288480391"
Legal Capacity  PAGEREF _Toc288480391 \h
9
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Statutory Protection  PAGEREF _Toc288480392 \h
10
 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc288480393"
Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc288480393 \h
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Lack of Legal Capacity is A Legitimate Means to Avoid Accountability under an Otherwise Binding Contract.
Introduction
Contract is defined as agreement which is done between two parties and therefore promises which are enforceable and can therefore be summed up in a Latin phrase Pacta sunt servanda simply meaning ‘agreements must be kept’. For any parties that are bound by any agreements determination have to\be made of a facie that is valid as well as an enforceable contract must exist. Hence, contract is therefore defined as agreements that contain promises that are made between parties who are agreeing together with an aim of enacting legal rights as well as responsibilities that are implemented in a court of law. The only element that can be used to distinguish contracts from the informal agreements it stat contracts are legally binding meaning that the laws can provide a solution in the net that the promise or the offer made is not fulfilled by any of the parties engaged in the contract. Based on the law many it is recommended that contracts should be in written form but also the oral contracts are legitimate as well in many circumstances the thus oral contracts maybe held even when there is no accord as to all of its conditions.
Legal Capacities to Enter Into Contracts
For any contract to be legally binding it this elements must be adhered to: first there must be there on offer, secondly the existing must be conventional, the deliberation must be agreed between parties involved. Hence, the parties involved must have an intention of making the accord to be legally obligatory as stated contract must not be for an illegal purpose and finally the parties involved in the contract should have a legal ability to be bale to agree in such contracts.
Second essential on contract is that it has a bid which is a promise of doing or not doing incredible in sufficient and obvious conditions that might b acceptable by any more else. In order to treat a mere idiom on intending to offer must be distinguished from invitation. The element of acceptance as it concerns to contracts is the offered accepts the given offer hence leading to formation of a contract. Such acceptance can be in written form, oral, oblique by demeanor and peace not amounting to recognition of an offer rather in the independent contracts or if the postal recognition rules apply.
Critical Elements of Contracts
Another critical element of contracts is the consideration which is promise, act or a guarantee not to act or symbolize the assessment given in the contracts. In addition to that is the element of the capacity to agree into any contracts. This involve the parties drawn in to have legal competence to agree into contract and such parties can not be bankruptcy or a minor unless such minors are only entering into such contracts for necessities as stipulated in the Minors’ Contact Act of 1987. Final element of contact is the intention to creation legal relations and this case al the parties must have the intention of accepting the offer to be have a legal binding upon them hence the presumption creating some form of legal relations.For any accord to be legally acceptable the offeror should give an offer that is to be bounded by convinced terms. Such offer given must be written, by conduct, orally and should be made to a person or group. Such offer is often followed by incompetent recognition that is usually done by the offeree to offeror.
Classification of Contracts
Contracts can be legally classified into many different types but the common ones include the following types: articulate and oblique contract, invalid and enforceable contracts. Express contracts are those contracts which ca be oral or written in nature and they are in terms of accord are often explicitly complete and stated when valid offer are accepted where as the implied contracts also termed as ‘oblique in fact’ are the type of contracts that are shaped by behaviors of the parties without direct negotiation on the particulars of the negotiation. The enforceable contract is a type of contracts that a legal preparation is usually obtainable in the event such contracts is not satisfied while a contracts can be referred to as unforeseen when certain constitutional necessities have failed to be met by the parties involved. Finally void contracts are contracts that do not exist under the applicable law despite the fact that parties involved might have come into an agreement that laws does not recognize as a legal contract an example is when either party agree to execute unlawful contract. on the other hand a contract can be said to be voidable under various reasons and such type of contracts that provide one of the party involved to extract from the made accord without any penalties e.g. when a minor and a merchant are involved in a an agreement the minor such contract can be voidable for the minor which the statutory law protects.
Formal Contracts
In addition to that there are requirement if any contract is to be considered formal and these include the following: it must be done in writing, in order to be binding it must be signed the parties involved, it must have independent witnesses, it must have been sealed and delivered formally and finally is that the contract doesn’t not require consideration.
One of the requirements for any contract to be valid is the parties involved must have authorized aptitude to enter into such contracts. Presumably some people lack the capacity to be parties in any contract as they are considered in capable of understanding the nature a well as the consequence of the truncation and been undertaken therefore is such kind of people enter a contract the contract is considered ‘voidable’ to them. Having a legal capacity is the opportunity that parties having to enter into a contract. It’s a legal requirement that not all persons are liable to enter into contacts as the laws protects those individuals or parties that lack the abilities to be grateful for the nature of the acts they do thus its obvious that the laws protects those who are not or could not be in a an equal bargaining positions with the other contracting party.
Lack of Legal Capacity
It’s then arguable that some individuals can seize the opportunity of the lack of legal capacity to use it as a legitimate means to avoid accountability under an otherwise binding contract. According to the common law person who have not attained the age of majority i.e. twenty one or eighteen years of age is considered a minor in some areas. The statute dictates that minor must not be bound by their promises hence according to the law he does not have a legal capacity to enter into any form of contract and if one enter into contract such kind of contract is implemented by the insignificant but not against him thus making it avoided at the choice of the trivial. However such minors upon attaining age of majority the persons may take some steps to affirming the contracts they signed while still minors thus making such contracts valid and biding against them. In some cases such affirmation are not made buy the individual as they become off age hence using their lack of legal capacity to legitimately to avoid being accountable even in times when the contract should be a binding one. This is because the laws still protects them as not having legal capacity to enter into contract unless they take step into affirming it despite the fact that they should be capable of. This privileges ahs therefore been misused by individuals who intentionally refuse to affirm contracts that they entered into while still been considered minors by the contract law.
Contract Law Exceptions
Some of the exceptions that the contract law makes for minors include contracts for necessaries like food, shelter, clothing and types of transport and such minors are therefore liable in such contracts. When dealing with case of minors and contracts the courts often consider the social positions of the minor especially if they already have adequate supply of such goods or not. Other contracts for minors is the beneficial or apprenticeships which are beneficial to minors and are not exployta6ive in nature. The law hence offers the right of reputation whereby the test is the contract entered into and such rights ca either be executed contracts i.e. contracts fully executed by the minor hence can be enforceable to the minor unless the minor was take advantage of or exploited. Also the right can be executory implying those that are yet to be performed hence may not be enforceable against the minor. The effects of repudiation in the contracts entered by minors is that fro the executory contracts the no necessary goods or services can be repudiated at any given time at the option of the minor and therefore the minors should return the goods. But the normal wear and tear to goods is not recoverable by the adult party where as deliberate acts done by the minor are recoverable. On the other hand the adult or the merchant according to contract laws is not in any position to sue or even tort if the minor’s actions lies in a contract. Generally the contract rule governing fraudulent misrepresentation as to age is that make contract with minors at your own peril and this extend to minors who misrepresent that age who may be able to repudiate and the criminal law of an individual obtaining goods under false pretence may be applicable in this case.
Entry of Minor in Contract
Repudiation is defined as the refusal to perform certain promise or agreement while ratification is the adoption of a contract or an act of the other party which originally was not bounded by such contract or acts. Therefore when minors enter into contracts of permanent nature and receive incurs obligations and receives benefits then such contacts should be repudiated at reasonable ages after attaining age of majority hence making it legally binding. On the other hand contracts covering the non–necessaries that re not of continuing nature the minors involved must expressively be able to ratify when they attain the age of majority. Therefore under the statutory protection on the modifications of the common law the process of ratification must...