CHAPTER 3 : LAW OF
CONTRACT
LEARNING OUTCOME
Students should be able to:
Understand the term of ‘contract’
Identify the general elements required in forming a contract.
Differentiate an ‘offer’ from ‘invitation to treat’.
To evaluate all elements of a valid contract
In your opinion what is a
contract?
It
is an agreement made between two (2) or more parties, which the law
will enforce.
For example:
Travelling by public transport
Going to a supermarket and purchasing goods
Reserving accommodation at a hotel
Employing or being employed
Section
2(h) of the Contracts Act 1950 provides:
“ an agreement enforceable by law is a contract”.
Section 2(g) states that “an agreement not enforceable by law is said to be
void”.- cancelled/terminated
Therefore a contract can be said to be a valid agreement.
From your point of view, what are
the general elements required for
the formation of a valid contract?
Four essential elements of a valid contract:
1) Proposal (offer)
2) Acceptance
3) Consideration ; and
4) Intention to create
legal relations
5) Capacity
6) Certainty
7)Free consent – void and voidable contract
1st element: PROPOSAL
Section 2(a) of the Contracts Act 1950 provides 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”.
For example Abu advertised in the Moon Mail that he will give a reward of
RM100 to anyone who finds his pet; OR John wrote offering to sell his MyVi
car to Sunny for RM20, 000.
The person making the proposal is called the ‘promisor’ or is also referred to
as the ‘proposer’.
If one of the parties fails to act in accordance with the agreement or break
the promise, then the other party – innocent party may pursue a civil action
for breach of contract. Seller---------buyer
For example: Obama and Osama forms an agreement between them. In the
event Obama breaches the contract, Osama may sue him (Obama) in a court
of law for the said breach.
Do you think that a proposal must be made to
an individual only or can it be made to the
public???
A proposal can be made to an individual, to a class of persons, a firm, and a company
or to the public at large.
In the case of Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co [1893] 1 QB 256, CA.
Fact: The defendants issued an advertisement in which they offered to pay £100 to
any person who succumbed to influenza after having used one of their smoke balls in a
specified manner and for a specified period. The plaintiff, Mrs Carlill, bought and used
the smoke ball as prescribed and caught influenza. She sued the company for the
promised reward.
Arguments from the defendant: The defendants contended that the contract is
made with all the world- that is with everybody and that one cannot contract with
everybody.
Held: It was held that an offer can be made to the entire of the world because the
contract will only be made with that limited portion of the public who came forward
and performed the condition on the faith of the advertisement.
CARBOLIC SMOKE BALL
WILL POSITIVELY CURE
COUGHS
COLD IN THE HEAD
COLD ON THE
CHEST
CATARRH
ASTHMA
HOARSENESS
LOSS OF VOICE
THROAT DEAFNESS
SNORING
INFLUENZA
HAY FEVER
CROUP
WHOOPING COUGH
BRONCHITIS
SORE THROAT
SORE EYES
HEADACHE
NEURALGIA
As all the Diseases mentioned above proceed from one cause,
they can be Cured by this Remedy.
£100 REWARD
WILL BE PAID BY THE
CARBOLIC SMOKE BALL CO.
to any Person who contracts the Increasing Epidemic,
INFLUENZA
,
Cold, or any Diseases caused by taking Cold, after having used the
CARBOLIC SMOKE BALL according to the printed directions
supplied with each Ball.
£1000 IS DEPOSITED
with the ALLIANCE BANK, Regent Street, showing our sincerity in the matter.
During the last epidemic of INFLUENZA many thousand CARBOLIC SMOKE BALLS
were sold as preventives against this disease, and in no asscertained case was the
disease contracted by those using the CARBOLIC SMOKE BALL.
When is the communication of the proposal
complete?
The
proposal must be communicated to the promise.
Sec 4(1) of the Contracts Act 1950 provides:
“ the communication of a proposal is complete when it comes to the knowledge of the
person to whom it is made”.
For
example if Labu writes a letter to Labi offering to sell his Ferrari car, the
communication of offer is complete when Labi knows about the offer himself.
For
example: A proposes, by letter, to sell a house to B at a certain price. The
communication of the proposal is complete when B receives the letter.
When is a proposal considered to be revoked or
terminated? cancelled..
Notice
of revocation: section 6(a) of the Contracts Act 1950.
Lapse
of time- if no time stated in the proposal, then the proposal
lapses after a reasonable time: section 6(b) of the Contracts Act 1950.
Failure
of the acceptor to fulfill a condition precedent: section 6(c) of
the Contracts Act 1950.
Death
1950
or mental disorder party: section 6(d) of the Contracts Act
What does not amount to an offer?
Invitation to treat comes from the Latin phrase ‘invitatio ad offerendum’
and means an “inviting an offer”
It is an expression of willingness to negotiate.
A person making an invitation to treat does not intend to be bound as
soon as it is accepted by the person to whom the statement is
addressed.
An invitation to offer is not an offer
INVITATION TO TREAT (ITT)
1) ADVERTISEMENT
3) AUCTION
2) DISPLAY OF
GOODS
4) TENDER
ITT=NOT OFFER
 1)





Circulars and advertisements
Case: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co
is a good example of a manufacturer’s offer by means of
advertisement. Therefore, an advertisement for the sale of
goods displayed to the public may be an invitation to treat.
Case: Majumder v Attorney General of Sarawak
(1967),
the Federal Court held that an advertisement in the
newspaper for the post of a doctor was not an offer but
merely an invitation to treat.
Coelho v. The Public Services Commission
Held: the Malay Mail advertisement was an invitation to
qualified persons to apply and the resulting applications were
offers.





2) Display of goods for sale is not an offer but merely an
invitation to treat
Case : Fisher v Bell (1961)
In this case a price-marked flick-knife was displayed for sale in a shop
window. The seller was prosecuted under the now repealed Restriction of
Offensive Weapons Act 1961, which made it an offence to offer to sell such
items, and was acquitted. Lord Parker stated:
“It is clear according to the ordinary law of contract that the display of an article
with a price on it in a shop window is merely an invitation to treat. It is in no
sense an offer for sale, the acceptance of which constitutes a contract”.
This case involved the display of a flick knife in a shop window contrary to
legislation which prevented such items being offered for the purpose of
sale.
Case: Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash Chemist
LTD [1952]2 All ER CA
 The issue in this case was whether there was a sale when a customer
selected items he wished to buy and placed them in the basket?
 Payment was to be made at the exit where a cashier was stationed.
 Held: the display was only invitation to treat. A proposal to buy was made
when the customer put the articles in the basket. Therefore, the contract
would only be made at the cashier’s desk.

3) Auctioneer’s invitation for bids COMPETITIVE BIDS




An auctioneer inviting bids offers an invitation to treat when a bidder
makes a bid.
auctioneer: making ITT
bidder: make proposal.
A call for bids by the auctioneer is not an offer, it merely an invitation to
treat. When people place bids to buy the auction item, they are regarded as
making offers to buy the item. The auctioneer is free to accept or reject the
bid
Case: Payne v Cave (1789) 3 Term Rep 148; 100 ER 502
Is an old English contract law case, which stands for the proposition that an
auctioneer's request for bids is not an offer but an invitation to treat. The
bidders make the offers which can be accepted by the auctioneer.
Mr Cave had made the highest bid for a good in an auction. But then, Mr Cave
changed his mind and he withdrew his bid before the auctioneer brought down
his hammer.
It was held that Mr. Cave, the defendant, was not bound to purchase the goods.
His bid amounted to an offer which he was entitled to withdraw at any time
before the auctioneer signified acceptance by knocking down the hammer.
4) Tender
Case: Spencer v Harding
 The defendant offered to sell stock by tender, but
the court held that there was no promise to sell
to the highest bidder, merely an invitation to
offers which they could then accept or reject at
will.
 Case: Haevela Investments v Royal Trust of
Canada[1986]
 Held: because the defendants had made clear an
intention to accept the highest tender, then the
invitation to tender was an offer accepted by the
person making the highest tender.

2nd element: ACCEPTANCE
Section 2(b) of the Contracts Act 1950 said:
“..... when a person to whom the proposal is made signifies his
assent/consent thereto, the proposal is said to be accepted, a
proposal when accepted becomes a promise...”
Acceptance occurs when an offeree agrees to be
mutually bound to the terms of the contract by giving
consideration, or something of value like money, to seal
the deal.
Keep in mind that acceptance follows the mirror image
rule, in that acceptance is valid if the product or service
rendered is exactly what was contained in the offer.

Section 9 of the Contracts Act 1950 states that: methods of
acceptance- expressed eg oral/ in writing
implied eg body gesture


“... when the acceptance is made in words, the acceptance is
expressed, when the acceptance is made other than in words, it is
implied...”


Section 7 (a) of the Contracts Act 1950 provides that:


“... be absolute and unqualified...” precise/clear


The acceptance must be made on exactly the same terms
proposed without modifications or variations
Any modifications or variations amounts to a counter proposal by
the party to whom the original proposal was made. (A counter
offer is treated as a rejection of the original proposal).
If one party makes an offer and the offeree
makes a counter offer, does the original offer
remain open?
COUNTER-OFFER/PROPOSAL
A counter offer is an offer made in response to a previous offer by the other
party during negotiations for a final contract. ... Making a counter
offer automatically rejects the prior offer, and requires an acceptance under
the terms of the counter offer or there is no contract.
Hyde v Wrench (1840)
Facts: Defendant offered to sell his farm to the plaintiff
for 1,000 pounds. Plaintiff made a counter offer of 950
pounds but defendant refused to sell.
Plaintiff wrote again offering to pay 1,000 pounds. The
defendant refused and the plaintiff sued for specific
performance
–
REMEDY/COMPENSATION/REWARD/GRANTED BY
THE COURT
Held: By making a counteroffer, the plaintiff rejected the
original offer and he was not entitled to revive it. Under
these facts the parties did not form a binding contract.
Therefore, a counteroffer negates the original offer.
** However further communication between the
parties subsequent to the original proposal is
permissible. It is important to distinguish between
counter proposal and request for further
information.
A mere request for information is not a counter
offer. If the offeree asks the offeror for more
information, the original offer stands and the
offeree has neither accepted or rejected the
offer. Referring back to the above example, if B
merely asks A if the £1000 includes delivery of the
books, this would be classed as a mere request for
information, not a counter offer.
Once a valid acceptance takes place, a binding contract is formed. It
is therefore important to know what constitutes a valid acceptance
in order to establish if the parties are bound by the agreement. There
are three main rules relating to acceptance:
1. The acceptance must be communicated to the
offeree.(EXPRESSED/IMPLIED) SEC 9
2. The terms of the acceptance must exactly match the terms of the
offer.(MIRROR IMAGE RULE)
3. The agreement must be certain. (SEC 7)
Issue : DOES SILENCE AMOUNT TO
ACCEPTANCE????
General rule:
Silence
of the offeree does not constitute an acceptance
of the offer.
For example, the offeree says: ‘I want to buy your Myvi
car for RM50,000 and if you are silent on this proposal, I
will presume that you have accepted my offer.’
NO…the law clearly states that silence cannot constitute
an effective acceptance.
The reason for this is because acceptance requires that
the offeree must express, either by words or by conduct.
One of the requirements of a valid acceptance is that it
has to be communicated to the offeror.
Felthouse v Bindley (1862) 142 ER 1037
Facts:
In this case an uncle offered to buy a horse from his nephew. After some
negotiations, he made an offer in a letter saying "if I hear no more about
him I shall consider the horse mine".
The nephew did not answer this offer but he told the auctioneer to
keep the horse out of a sale.
The problem arose because the auctioneer mistakenly sold the horse to
someone else.
The uncle then sued the auctioneer on the basis that the horse
belonged to him.
Held:
The court held that there could not be a contract in the circumstances
where the uncle imposed a contract by saying "if I hear no more about
him I shall consider the horse mine".
It was not possible for the uncle to impose contractual liability on the
nephew.
**However, there is a situation where a silence can be treated as a valid
acceptance.
Issue: When might silence constitute acceptance?
Where the conduct of the offeree indicates acceptance, there is an
invitation that silence amounts to acceptance.
Case: Weatherby v Banham
In this case, where an offeror offered to supply goods to the offeree by
sending the goods to him, acceptance of the offer arose when the offeree
began using the goods. Under the Unsolicited Goods and Services Act
1971, if an offeror sends unsolicited goods to an individual in certain
circumstances, as stipulated by the Act, that individual may treat those
goods as a gift and is able to treat the goods as his own, without incurring
contractual liability.
It was held that where silence after received and reads a magazine after
the expired date of subscription is consider being a valid acceptance.
REVOCATION OF ACCEPTANCE

Section 5(2) Contracts Act 1950:-
An acceptance may be revoked at any time before
the communication of the acceptance is complete
as against the acceptor, but not afterwards.
 Illustrations
A proposes by letter sent by post, to sell his
house to B. B accepts the proposal by letter sent
by post. B may revoke his acceptance at any time
before or at the moment when the letter
communicating A, but not afterwards.
3rd element: CONSIDERATION


Section 26 of CA 1950:
An agreement made without consideration
is VOID.
Consideration is defined in section 2(d) of
the Contracts Act 1950:
“when at the desire............................... is called
for the promise”
Something of value given in exchange for
something else of value, usually in the
context of a contract.
 Consideration is the benefit that each party receives,
or expects to receive, when entering into a contract.
Consideration is often monetary, but it can be a
promise to perform a specific act, or a promise to
refrain from doing something.
In order for a contract or agreement to be legally
binding, every party to the contract must receive some
type of consideration.
In other words, a contract is a two-way
street, so each party must receive
something of value from the other party
or parties.
Illegal or immoral acts are not legally
considered to serve as consideration.
 Consideration must be a lawful
consideration..stolen car= unlawful
consideration..

Example 1
John backed into Allen’s car, damaging it. John is liable to pay for the
damages, but does not have the money right now. While Allen could
sue John for the damages to his car, he enters into an agreement with
John to give him 90 days to pay the full amount of $1,500, plus an
additional $250 for the inconvenience. The agreement states that
Allen will not file a lawsuit before the 90 days is up, but is free to do
so after that time. This agreement, or “contract,” provides
consideration for both parties:
John’s benefit: Allen gives up the right to sue for a period of 90 days
Allen’s benefit: John will pay for the damages, plus an additional
amount of $250
Example 2
Brittney agrees to sell her car to Bill for $1,000. Bill’s payment serves
as consideration for Brittney’s promise to sell the car to him.
Brittney’s consideration is her promise to sell him the car.
Types of consideration
1. Executed Consideration
where an act is done/ promise made in return for the performance of an
act. (reward situation).
Example:
Laila lost her wallet. She offers a reward of RM100 for anyone who found
her wallet and returns her wallet. Majnun found her wallet and returns it to
her. She paid the reward of RM100 to him.
Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. [1893] 1 QB 256
The company’s offer= promise.
Carlil bought, used the smoke ball and still suffered from influenza=
performance of the act- Carlil’s consideration is executed to the company’s
promise- It creates a binding contract).
Held:
The company needs to execute the promise; to pay reward to Carlill. (act/
promise)
2. Executory Consideration
One promise is made in return for another promise/ other party’s
promise.
 The whole transaction remains in future, i.e. a promise for a promise in
future.
K. Murugesu v Nadarajah [1980] 2 MLJ 82
 The respondent was the tenant of the appellant. The respondent had
pestered the appellant to sell to him the house he was leaving in. The
Appellant agreed to sell a house to the Respondent at $ 26,000 only
within three months from the date of the agreement. Later on the
Appellant refused to sell and alleged that there is no consideration
therefore the agreement was void.
Court held:
There is an executory consideration where a promise made by one’s
party in return for a promise made by the other. The court referred to the
words of illustration (a) to section 24 of the Contract Act;
 “ A agrees to sell his ……………………………………………………
these are lawful consideration”.
 The court held that there was a promise against a promise; one promise
was consideration for the other because each may have his action against
the other for non performance.
 Consideration: price

3. Past Consideration
A promise after an act has been performed. The act must be done in reliance of the
promise.
For example,
Ketiak was swimming in a river suddenly he got into difficulty. Lengan who happened
to be nearby, heard his cries for help, dived into the river and saved his life. Ketiak
promised to give Lengan RM100 for saving his life.
The act Lengan in saving Ketiak’s life was wholly performed before the promise was
made.
Lampeigh v Braithwait (1615) 80 ER 225
B was sentenced to death for murder. Then he requested L (a lawyer) to do all he
can as to enable him to get pardon from the King OF London.
L then do everything that he can by using his own expenses and finally B successfully
got the pardon.
B then promised to give L a 100 pound. But subsequently he failed to pay and L sued
B for that.
B then argued that “there was no consideration from L when B made a promise to
pay money to L.
Court held:
There was past consideration from L.
He entitled for 100 pound for the service that he done before the promise was
made.
Can a consideration move from a
person who is not the promisee?
Section 2(d) of CA 1950
“....promisee or any other person...”
Venkata Chinnaya v Verikatara'ma’ya (1881) ILR 4 Mad 137
Facts:
A sister agreed to pay an annuity of Rs653 to her brothers (who provided
no consideration), if their mother transfer some land to her.
When their mother had given the sister some land, the sister failed to fulfill
her promise. Her brothers sued the sister.
Court Held:
She was liable on the promise on the ground that there was valid
consideration for the promise even though it did not move from the
brothers.
Should consideration be adequate or
sufficient???
Consideration need not be adequate
It is not necessary that there must be full return for the promise.
There must be something rather than nothing.
For example, A agrees to sell his watch worth RM100 only for RM10. A's
consent to the agreement was given freely. The agreement is enforceable
even though the watch is being sold for just one-tenth of its price.
What is deemed “sufficient”???
Consideration must have values in the eyes of law
If the promisee performs a legal duty and nothing
more this is not sufficient consideration
In the case of Ward v Byham (1956)
The father of a child wrote to the mother, saying that
he would pay her an allowance of £1 per week if she
proved that the child was “well looked after and
happy”.
Held: mother was entitled to enforce the promise
because in undertaking to see the child was well
looked after and happy, she was doing more than her
legal obligation
4TH element: INTENTION TO CREATE
LEGAL RELATION
Even though the Contracts Act is silent as to the
intention to create legal relations as one of the
requirements to form a valid contract, decided
cases or case laws lays out the necessity of this
requirement. In other words, in order to form a valid
contract, there must exist an intention to create
legal relations.
In its simplest form, intention to create legal
relations means that the parties must intend to
enter into a legally binding arrangement in which
the rights and obligations of the
agreement are enforceable.
Why Intention to Create
Legal Relations Is Important?
 Intention to create legal relations indicates
the intention of parties to enter into a legally
binding agreement. It shows that the parties are ready
to accept the legal consequences of the agreement,
which means that they are serious about it.
Types of agreements
Intention to create legal relations
Commercial agreements
(presumption of intentions)
family, social & domestic
(presumption of no intention)
Commercial agreements
In commercial agreements, there is a presumption that the parties DO intend
to make a legally binding contract. It is not necessary for the plaintiff in the
ordinary run of commercial agreements to supply evidence affirming that there
was an intention to create legal relations. But the defendant may rebut the
presumption by reference to the words used by the parties and/or the
circumstances in which they used them:
In the case of Carlill v Carbolic Smokeball Co (1893), the defendant had
claimed extravagantly in an advertisement about the efficacy of their smokeball
preventing influenza.
They supported this claim with a promise to pay £100 to anyone who used it and
yet caught influenza within a specified period. They (carbolic) stated that in
order to show their sincerity, they had deposited £100 with their bankers.
The plaintiff bought smokeball and caught influenza.
The defendant contended that the advertisement (mere offer) was a mere puff
and was not intended to create legal relations. (ARGUMENT MADE BY THE
COMPANY)
The Court of Appeal rejected the defendant’s contention. The fact that the
deposit was in the bank was strong evidence that the defendant had
contemplated legal liability when they issued their advertisement
Family agreements
Family arrangement: 1. Agreement between husband and
wife- LEGAL INTENT DOES NOT EXIST
In family and social arrangements there is difficulty to
suggest legal intent that would become contracts
because of the domestic arrangement such as between
husband and wife.
 In the case of Balfour v Balfour (1919), it was ruled that
because husband and wife were living in amity, there was no
legal intent when an agreement was made because of the
domestic situation as husband and wife, and that their
dispute should be settled without legal proceedings. In this
case it was presumed that legal intent does not exist. Lord
Justice Atkin in Balfour v Balfour (1919) “Agreements such as
these are outside the realm of contracts altogether. The
common law does not regulate the form of agreements
between spouses…The consideration that really obtains for
them is natural love and affection which counts so little in
these cold Courts.”
 In the case of Merritt v Merritt (1970), The husband left the
wife to live with another woman. The husband and wife
became separated when they made an agreement. The
wife made him record this agreement in writing. The
husband promised to pay for certain expenses, he did
not, and defended himself by claiming that the
agreement was made within his family and did not have
legal relations. However, the court found the agreement
to be enforceable because the agreement was made
when they were not in living amity and when they
became separated. The presumption of legal intent was
rebutted in this case because there was evidence that
they were not living together.
 Therefore, the court may enforce an agreement if it is
made when husband and wife are not living in amity or
are separated.
Family agreement: 2. Agreement between
parent and child
In Jones v Padavatton (1969), in this case, Mrs. Padavatton
(Daughter) was working as a secretary in the US.
Her mother, Mrs. Jones offered to pay for her daughter’s expenses if
she agreed to return to England to study for the Bar. Mrs.
Padavatton accepted.
Later on, Mrs Jones offered to provide a house for her daughter but,
some of the rooms in the house were to be let to tenants. However,
Mrs Padavatton became uncooperative towards her mother.
As a result, Mrs Jones claimed possession of the said house. Mrs
Padavatton argued that her mother had agreed to give her the
house and as such, was contractually bound to the said
agreement.
HELD: Mrs.Jones(mother) was entitled to possession of the house.
The original agreement was motivated by her desire to see her
daughter succeed at the Bar. They had no intention to enter into a
stiff contractual agreement.
Domestic Agreement
Generally been presumed NOT to be intended to create legal relations
In the case of Simpkins v Pays (1955), three people lived together in a house
(lodger, grandmother & granddaughter) and jointly took part in a competition
organized by a newspaper. The entries were made by one name only.
One entry won the prize and the defendant, in whose name the entry was
submitted refused to share it with the other two contributors claiming there
was no intention to create legal relations.
Issue: was there an understanding between the parties that their agreement
amounted to a contract?
It was a joint enterprise to which each contributed in the expectation of
sharing the prize that they won. The court decided that due to the
arrangement, it was referred to as a legal relation. Therefore, the lodger was
entitled to one-third of the prize.
Lodger
Grandmother
granddaughter
5th element: CAPACITY
 Is referring to the capacity of the parties to enter into a
contract in terms of the following:1.
Age
2.
Non-bankrupt
3.
Sound mind
 S 11
person is competent to contract if he is
of the age of majority , age 18 years
of sound mind
not disqualified from contracting by any law
AGE
 Tan Hee Juan v Teh Boon Keat
P (a minor) contracted to transfer his land to the D. Later,
the P applied to the Court for an order setting aside the
contract.
Held: The contract was void. The Court ordered the
restoration of the land to the minor.
 Case : MOHORI BIBEE V DHURMODAS GHOSE
An infant entered into contract of loan-he borrowed
money and mortgage his house. His mother as guardian
challenge the contract as void as the infant is still a minor.
Held: Contract is void-sect 10 & sec 11 Contract Act.
Exception
1. contracts for necessaries
 S 69
( minor bound by the contract)
 Examples: food, shelter, clothing, medical etc
 Ryder v Wombwell
D minor, bought a pair of crystal, ruby and diamonds
solitaire and antique goblet in a silver gift.
Held: contract void
 2. contracts of scholarship/beneficial apprenticeship.
 Govt. of M’sia v Gurcharan Singh
P sued the D for breach of a contract providing a course
of training at a College. The claim was $11,500. At the
time of the contract the D was a minor.
Held: the D was liable for the repayment.
 3. Insurance Act 1963
A minor over the age of 10 may enter into a contract of
insurance. However if the minor is under the age of 16, a
written consent of the parents or guardian is essential.
 4. Marriage- a promise of marriage entered into by minors or their
parents on their behalf is valid.
 Rajeswary & Anor v. Balakrishnan
Parties were Ceylonese Hindu. Following customary practice, a
marriage agreement was entered into with provisions of Dowry and
Penalty for Breach. (plaintiff paid dowry). Parties went through
betrothal ceremony. Defendant repudiated the promise of marriage
to the plaintiff through series of letters. Plaintiff sue for damages for
breach of promise of marriage. Defendant pleaded that plaintiff was
a minor and incapacity to enter into contract of marriage.
Held: Minor may, sue or be sued for such breach of contract of
marriage. The decision in Mohori Bibee was not followed. Plaintiff was
entitled to sue for damages as there was a valid contract of
marriage.
 Marriage in Islam:
 Undang -Undang Keluarga Islam Selangor:
valid age for boy is above 18
valid age for girl is above 16
 If below that age, they must get permission from Hakim Syarie.
6th element: CERTAINTY
 Agreement : the meaning of which is not certain or
capable of being made certain, are void.
 Case: Karuppan Chetty v Suah Thiam
 The contract was declared void for uncertainty
because the parties agreed to a lease of $35 per
month ‘as long as he likes’