Contract Law Problem Question

Firstly, we have to distinguish whether Jack makes an invitation to tender or an invitation to treat. According to Harvela Investments Ltd v. Royal Trust Co of Canada (CI) Ltd (1986), the usual analysis is that ‘an invitation to tender for a particular project is simply an invitation to treat. ' However, in the case of Harvela Investments Ltd, the invitation to tender is treated as an offer implicating legal obligations. I believe that Jack was making an invitation to treat rather than an invitation to tender, constituting an offer, for several reasons; firstly, the terms of the invitation are vague, with no specification of time for which acceptance of the ‘most competitive tender ' will remain open till; secondly, I infer that the lack of formality in Jack 's proposal indicates Jack 's lack of intention to create legal relations; thirdly, invitations to tender only creates obligations where justice demands it, since it costs a relatively large amount to produce the tender, whereas in this case, I infer that that there is little cost in producing the tender, hence, justice wouldn 't demand legal obligations. Moreover, Jack states that ‘he will accept the ‘most competitive ' tender ' which is a subjective judgement since ‘most competitive ' can mean various things; thus it is a value judgement which the court cannot enforce or decide. Using the objective test of intention, I believe that a reasonable person would know that Jack did not intend to form contractual obligations with either parties. Thus, I conclude that Jack makes an invitation to treat to three parties: Bob, Ken and Andy. ‘An invitation to treat is an expression of willingness to embark on negotiations with the other party to see whether the agreement can be reached further down the path. ' Thus, Jack is not making an offer; the offer is made by he person who submits the tender and the acceptance is made when the person inviting the tenders accepts one of them. Therefore, Jack 's invitation to

Bibliography: Textbook · Chen-Wishart, Mindy, Contract Law, (Oxford 2005) · H G Beale, WD Bishop & M P Furmston, Contract Cases and Materials, 4th ed. (Oxford 2005) Cases · Blackpool and Fylde Aero Club Ltd v Blackpool Borough Council [1990] · Foakes v Beer (1884) [1881-5] All ER Rep 106, House of Lords · Central London Property Trust Ltd. v. High Trees House Ltd [1947] KB 130