4 Legal intent
In forming a contract, in addition to looking for an offer, acceptance and
consideration, the court looks for a genuine intention to be legally bound.
Without legal intent (or intention to create legal relations) an agreement
may appear to contain the elements of a contract, but will not be
enforceable legally. It is reasonable for the court to look for this
requirement, since in many everyday situations people who have formed
some kind of agreement would not expect or intend to create a contract, and
would not wish to be bound by one, for example in social arrangements. On
the other hand, it is quite easy to form an agreement, even in the course of
business dealings, without actually saying or writing very much, but with a
definite intention to be bound by it; for example in shopping, where it is
often a matter of the customer handing over goods to be wrapped, the seller
fully expecting to receive money for them. It is important here that the
court can identify some legal intent, rather than just a general matter of
trust. The cases concerning this issue fall into the following two categories:
- social and domestic arrangements
- commercial agreements.
Social and domestic arrangements
There is a general presumption that social and domestic arrangements are
not intended to be legally binding.
Did he really meanto form a contract?
Why do you think that this is needed?