My Role in Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My Role in Leadership - Essay Example Few concepts are more crucial to the human organization than leadership. Efficient leadership helps organizations in times of peril, making the set up more successful and receptive to change. Doing things effectively while influencing others enables the fulfilling of the set down objectives. It is essentially the backbone of productivity. The absence of efficiency in leadership proves to have dramatic effects. Because of good leadership skills, it is not easy to lose track of what is important. Much of the challenges that are associated with leadership success lies with decision making and implies that complete and accurate decision making ensures prosperity. What are you going to do next? What issues, questions, and dilemmas are you going to explore further? Why and how? How will this influence who you are and how you relate to others? It will be important to influence the thoughts, attitudes, behavior and inspire others as a good leader. As a leader, I will set directions for my peers and help them focus on what lies ahead. Through this forecasting, a good visualization of what is achievable will be evident. Without this visualization of the benefits associated with the good leadership, it is likely that our way of organizing things will easily degenerate into conflict and argument. An effective execution of leadership will ensure that my personal perception by others is greatly influenced by the enormous benefits of respect.   This is a good way of staying relevant to my peers as encourage and instill positive values in them.

Morality of war in Afghanistan and Iraq Essay Example for Free

Morality of war in Afghanistan and Iraq Essay The war in Afghanistan and Iraq are referred by President Bush as wars against terror. They came as a result of the events that happened in the land of America in September 11th 2007. During this time America was attacked by terrorists who bombed the World Trade Center and Washington’s defense unit; the pentagon. These two attacks led to the loss of about 3000 lives. Immediately the US president declared war on Afghanistan which was said to harbor the world’s terrorist Osama bin Laden who masterminded the attacks. Later, he also attacked Iraq after Saddam Hussein said that he also happy to learn that America was attacked though he was not responsible. When both nations were attacked by USA in the name of war against terror, they retaliated. Now the question of morality comes in, who had a right to fight back, is it USA or the so called terrorists? It is this question of morality that will be my main focus on this paper. On 11th September 2001, America was hit by what seemed to be a well coordinated terrorist attack. There were about 19 terrorists who worked in groups of 4 or 5 to execute their plans. They used American jetliners as bombs to hit their two targets that is, the twin towers of the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon which is the USA’s military headquarters at Arlington, Virginia. The other plane which was also hijacked failed to hit its target after the passengers realized what was going on and fought back. It crashed somewhere in rural fields of Pennsylvania. All these acts showed every traits of terrorism. And the 19 men who were involved were Arabs who came from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Arab countries. They were all linked to the al-Qaeda network which is an Islamic group headed by Osama bin laden. This organization is dedicated to wage war against USA and their main targets include financial, political and military section. It has never witnessed such deaths since the civil war ended. This is why Bush found it morally right to protect and to fight for he thought it wise to stand up to their bullies. The al-Qaeda network started when Osama bin laden offered himself to support Afghanistan in 1980’s against the occupation by the Union of Soviet Socialist State (USSR). He financed the anti-soviet resistance. After he succeeded in chasing the Soviet out, Osama devoted himself to fight for Muslims in other regions in the world. He was especially angered by the stationing of USA military in Saudi Arabia and the idea of United States for supporting Israel against Palestine in the Arab- Israel war. Osama is an extremist who believed that no US citizen should step in the Muslim land and is totally opposed to the Western influences. Osama bin laden is not an Afghanistan citizen. Afghanistan as an independent nation and it had its every right to fight back USA. Any independent nation should be able to protect its citizens against any external aggression. So, this is one of these obligations that Iraq and Afghanistan were meeting (Press release. 2007 Sept 27) Again, Afghanistan had every right to fight USA back in support of Osama bin laden- the said master minder. This is because a friend in deed is a friend in need. Osama and his al-Qaeda, network saved them from external aggression by the USSR. Now it was their turn to help him. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. By not fighting back was not only a sign of cowardice but also being ungrateful. The Taliban regime depended on Osama’s wealth. He helped to organize and equip all military training camps USA should have used diplomatic strategies to arrest Osama bin laden and bring an end to the operations of the al-Qaeda. According to Martin Luther King junior, you do not pay evil with evil, it will escalate to a very terrible thing. There was no way the attacked nations could have remained quiet. Yes war is not the answer and should be the last option but cannot face your enemy who is armed with open arms. For this reason, I don’t see anything unusual or bad with Iraq and Afghanistan retaliating. Therefore, they were justified to fight back. To the affected Arab nations, the September 11th, 2001 attacks if anything, was a revenge of harms done by USA to the Arab states. USA has been against the Arabs since the Israel Palestine conflict. The US government thought that it must teach these deviant nations a lesson by attacking them. They knew that US is superior to them but they had slow down its move. They were aware that that if you give your enemy an inch, they will take a mile so by fighting back, they were only reducing further military interventions. According to the Muslims (Scott D. M. , 2005) staging a holy war is not morally wrong. Muslims do value holy war or what is called Jihad. To Muslims jihad war should be directed to a visible enemy, against devil inducements and on one’s self aspects. So, by Afghanistan and Iraq fighting back, they were only fulfilling the teachings of Koran. According to them, America fits the description of a foe and it should be shunned from entering in any of the Muslim territories. According to Saddam, it was alright to fight your foe. He was a very strong supporter of this course. In one of his speech that was read by the Information Minister Saeed Al sahaf he said, â€Å"O great warrior nation, O sons our great nation men of arms who uphold the honor of resistance, God’s peace be upon you as you face the aggressors the enemies of God and humanity the passing infidels, with chests filled with faith and love for God. † In his speech he argued people to fight against their enemy, â€Å"The aggressors will flee from what is right and be damned along with their devils. Faith and honor will brighten the faces of Mujahedden (holy fighters), men and women. † He said. Saddam Hussein justified the course he took of fighting Americans and Persians. He died cursing both of them. Before he died he argued all Muslims from all over world to unite and fight their common enemy. By fighting Americans they are only acting according to the Koran’s teachings. After the September 11 attack (Press release. 2007 Sept 27)Saddam was heard saying that the act was heroic though he was not responsible there was no indication that Iraq was responsible for the attack Saddam Hussein celebrated the attacks on USA just a few days after the attack. He said that the attacks were the fruits of the crimes they had committed against humanity. There was no evidence pointing Iraq to the attack so, there was no way they could have allowed USA to attack them. Any move to punish them was resisted by fighting back. America attacked Iraq on allegations that it was involved in the 2001 September 11 attack. What I think prompted US to act against Iraq is the Saddam’s speech after the attack. It should be known that everybody should feel free to express his ideas whenever he feels like. That is why there is freedom of expression. Therefore, Saddam was only exercising his freedom of speech. In Afghanistan, the US government crushed the Taliban government and put another government of their choice. This can be said to be interfering with other states affairs. Taliban was the ruling government before it was ousted by the American troops. Thus, they were fighting back to take their former leadership positions. On the other hand, I think America had all the rights to attack Afghanistan. This is because all the evidence was pointing on Afghanistan. For example in 2007 a videotape was discovered in Afghanistan. It provided insights in Osama’s thinking and ties to the attack. This video was discovered in November 2001 and was conversation between Osama bin laden and the Arab Sheik who had visited Afghanistan. In the tape Osama bin Laden could be heard saying how he premeditated the attacks. He even knew the number of people who would be victims of the attack. Also, because he is a construction engineer, he knew that the best floors to target were three or four because the fine caused by the caused by the gas on the plane would melt all the iron above it and make the while building to collapse. This was enough evidence that linked Osama bin laden, Taliban government and USA attack. Though this tape linked Afghanistan with September eleven attacks, it was not enough evidence to prove that they are the one who did that. May be the tape was recorded by people who wanted to make a name for al-Qaeda? Even before the tape was discovered, USA had already started to revenge on Afghanistan as on 7TH October 2001(Bergen P. , 2006)

Writing On The Philosophy Of Immanuel Kant Philosophy Essay

Writing On The Philosophy Of Immanuel Kant Philosophy Essay Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was born in Konigsberg, East Prussia. It is said of him that his failures are more important than most mens successes. Kant has contributed his literary knowledge in different areas of human inquiry. These include science for example astronomy, biology and philosophy. Here we are concerned with his moral writings. Kant argues against the skepticism of the eighteenth century, that scientific and moral laws can not be discovered. Failure in doing so results from the fault in procedure that is being followed i.e., using empirical data as the source of knowledge. Reason not empirical evidence can lead us in knowing both scientific and moral laws. He says, for the sake of explanation, that human mind works according to certain laws namely the categories of understanding. Causality, for example, is one of the categories that tell us that for every event there is a cause, helping in understanding the natural phenomenon. It is not the observation of sequence of cause and effect of natural phenomena , cause preceding the effect in the that help us understand these phenomena, but the ability of human mind that shapes or gives sequential order to the cause and effect principle in a given phenomena. Moreover, these categories of understanding are a priori. These come before our experience. In this way the source of all understanding and certainty of knowledge is human reason. Thus we are able to discover and infer the nature around us through our rationality and reasoning capacity. Now applying the same principle Kant tells us that certainty of knowing the moral law can be achieved through reason and rational nature because this alone is same and common in humans. Similarly, the source of this law is a priori; it comes before experience not after it. Rather it provides the basis for our understanding and appreciating our experience. Nevertheless, experience can not provide the ground for morality because it is different in everyone and is influenced by varieties of desires and tastes. That universal moral law is objective i.e. within our mind, which is universal to all human beings. Human conscience for example is universal. This law leads to the formation of ethical system that is universally both in scope and in content pertaining to humanity. Similar moral values would result from such a moral law which is valid for all human beings. The moral actions should be consistent with their reason. These should be acceptable to each and every individual. These moral principles should be consistently binding upon all individual, because of there rational being. Such moral principle, says Kant is a test of consistency that a man can will that all men, including him, should act upon is called the categorical imperative. Thus right actions are those which are applicable to and consistent with acceptability of all other individuals. Wrong actions, however, are those which are not applicable to and consistent with acceptability of all other individuals. Categorical imperative not only helps us in distinguishing right from wrong actions but also binds us in doing right and avoiding wrong actions, because each rational man is obligated to follow reason. Categorical imperative enables us to establish our moral duties. Constructing his moral philosophy in detail, Kant say that there are good and bad actions. But morality of such actions has no intrinsic value. These actions have no value when done out of good will. Good will is something which is without any qualification good. Talents of human mind intelligence, wit and judgment and gifts of fortune such as power, riches, honor, health and happiness must be qualified by a good will. Otherwise, these can be engaged in any negative sense to individual or society. Even so much so that there are some qualities namely moderation in affection and passions, self control and calm deliberation are of service to good will itself. These qualities may facilitate the performance of goodwill. Even these qualities can not be called a good without qualifying them with a good will. Because a calmness and self control of a notorious person proves to more dangerous than that of villain devoid of these attributes. In addition, good will has moral value which is not liable to be influenced by the consequences it produces. For example if an individual has a good will but his efforts for telling the truth lead him into danger then his good will, assumedly, has lost its incorrectly so, value because of the bad consequence of his righteousness. Rather good will is good in itself, it is not good because it achieves good results or is bad because it results in bad consequences. The aim of human reason is not attaining happiness but to engender a good will. Reason is the means to produce or cultivate the end which is good will. Happiness can not be the end of the reason because the more the reason is cultivated the more sophistication is acquired and the more burdened feels a man. Human instinct could aim at the end of happiness. But nature has chosen reason for rational human beings as a means to attain the end i.e, good will. Kant then proceeds to discuss the relation between goodwill and duty. He says that a good will is one which is done for the sake of the duty. Actions done in this sense would have moral worth. He is talking about good actions not bad ones because these are not done for the sake of duty rather done against it. In explaining this concept of duty he gives such examples as a man who due to misfortunes in life is in distress has lost all charm in life. He is on the verge of collapsing decides to live and continue living; for the sake of duty of being alive is acting in accordance with his duty and only such action done out of duty qualified by good will have moral worth. In addition, Kant distinguishes the merely praise worthy behavior from moral action. All those actions having appreciative social value have no moral worth if done out of any personal inclination of gain what so ever. Moral worthy actions are those performed only for the sake of duty out of good will. He then states his ethical propositions. Firstly, an action has moral worth when it is done out of duty. Secondly, an action done out of duty do not derive its moral worth from the consequences it engenders, well or worse, but because of following the principle of duty. Thirdly, in his own word, duty is the necessity of acting from respect for the law. Duty is known as any morally right action done in direct contrast to ones own inclination or of any external influences, out of good will objectively for the sake of the law and subjectively for pure respect of the law. Kant now expounds the idea of categorical imperative. Categorical imperative is test of any action. The action either is consistent with the universal law or is not consistent with it. For example, he states that is it prudent or is it right for a man to keep a false promise. Its answer may be difficult to given, but it can be provided by testing its maxims or statements in universal law or universal terms. For example is it prudent to make false promises this maxim if universally evaluated would not stand as becoming a universal law because false promises can not be universalized. On the other hand, the second maximum when tested in terms of the universal, is it right to keep false promises can not be universalized either. Hence through categorical imperative we are able to distinguish this action being right or wrong. He then discusses the categorical from hypothetical imperative. An action done for the sake of duty out of good will is categorical. Hypothetical imperative is when and socially praise worth action done, not for the performance or doing duty but rather, for the sake of influence or what so ever consequence. Through categorical imperative, he further explains that, it guides us that we should only do that action of which maxims are able to with stand the test of universality. In Kant words, Act as if thy action were to become by thy will a Universal Law of Nature. Kant defines that categorical imperative is two fold test, firstly that maxims for moral action be universalized without logical contradiction, and secondly, that they be universal directives for action which do not bring the will into disharmony with itself by requiring it to will one thing for itself and another thing for others. Kant in order to illustrate gives four examples. Firstly, there is person who is despaired of his life and thinks of committing suicide. Then he asks himself this question is it not contradictory to shorten ones life out of self love, he then testing this maxim in the categorical form and universalizing it he finds it that nature has given him life to fulfill it and not to end it. This he finds can n ot be universalized. Secondly a person in dire need of money wishes to borrow money and not returning the sum again finds himself in dilemma find is it right to borrow money for self interest with no intention of returning the amount. He easily finds out universal law that his maxim stands in contrast to become a universal law, so he has not to do so. Thirdly, another person who is naturally gifted with some arts lets his talent rust because of sensual indulgences or idleness. He then being a rational being ask himself that is right to devalue ones natural gifts which he has been endowed with can this maxim with stand the universal law. This is easily not so because letting ones talents die does not stand to categorical imperative. Fourthly, a person in good condition sees other people in neediness thinks that it is not my concern to help them. And he neither enviess them or despises them and does not desire there despair. In such a situation for these its not the end of their life rather they would live and could get help. And for this person this maxim might with stand to categorical test but his will as rational being would not be at ease with his maxim of being indifferent to needy people because he can imagine that sometimes in life humans, including himself, need help of others so he can not let such a will to be universaliz ed. Thus all of the four people discover there course of moral conduct by applying the categorical principle to there personal cases. There after he stipulates the social implication of the universal principle of categorical imperative. The humans are rational beings. They are not object of any kind. There very nature demands them as being an end in them. So they shall never be treated as mere means rather ends in them. Human beings shall be respected impartially and avoid exploitation. Because the rational nature of man is an end in itself, thus by my point of view I am subjectively an end in my self. Whereas with respect to all other individual which is objective viewing rational human beings, they due to there very rational nature, are end in themselves. Kant thus defines this as practical imperative, So act as to treat humanity, whether in thin own person or in that of any other, in every case as an end withal, never as means only. Kant further states that regarding any of the maxims human beings should always be treated as an end not as means. In all the maxims the supreme condition must be that human being ar e an end then it be universalized. Kant at last having put his moral philosophy argues that only an ethical system based on rational basis can best provide us a system which is not only consistent with human reason but also consistent with universal agreement. Moreover source and force of applicability with human nature i.e. its binding force comes from within. Whereas an ethical system based on empirical evidence of human history and his behavior can never be agreed upon and has no binding force.

Reflection Paper on Living in the Land of Promise Article

Have you ever wondered what true happiness is? Or what is living in a Promised Land like? Or just wondering how can a priest live a happy life if they are to give up on a lot of things? Or have you ever wondered of your purpose on life? On why we are all here on Earth? I believe, each and every one of us, is living in this world with a purpose. It may be a great or a simple one but we are all called by God to fulfill certain tasks. And as we fulfill whatever that task is, we should always be ready to face all sorts of challenges along the way. Just like in the old days before Jesus walks on the surface of the Earth. There were a lot of people called by God to fulfill some mission, because He was preparing a promise for all humanity. Some mission He believes to be so important to accomplish to achieve a life of Eternity with Him. And these people who fulfilled all the tasks were all written in the history to have contributed a great deal in the realization of God’s greatest plan. A plan so important that we have now a chance to experience and that is to be able to live in the Promised Land. A land filled with happiness. I could just imagine all the obstacles or painful experiences the people of the past like Abraham, Jacob and Moses had to undergo in order to pave the way for us to enjoy the so called Promise Land. Sacrifices that ordinary people may deem impossible to surpassed. Just take for instance, the great test given to Abraham when he was asked by God to sacrifice the life of his beloved son Isaac, it was a huge test he was able to pass because of his obedience to the Lord. And since these people were given some tasks by our Lord that they greatly tried to accomplish, we can now be assured that as long as we follow ... ...ication or connection with the Lord is another key to live a happy life. A life guided by the Holy Spirit, is always a life of happiness. Surely, problems here in there will come your way yet once you are constantly in-touched with the Lord, you will be assured of the best possible way to handle problems. Happiness is an elusive dream for some, that is because a life without God is never fulfilled, and a life-filled with superficial happiness is not considered happy also. This is because this type of happiness, I think is fleeting. Things may not happen the way you like it, but the greater plan of God will always prevail. And this we should always keep in mind, we should always be an example to others by the way we live. Just like the famous saying, as we live our lives, we should always be a blessing to others, and that alone is a big purpose in life to live by.

Brazil Allows Police to Buy High Caliber Guns Essay

The Brazilian military will now allow police and firefighters to buy powerful .45 caliber guns for personal use, raising fears over how the weapons will be used and where they might end up.Prior to the ruling, only federal police were permitted to buy .45 caliber weapons, while other police agencies carried less lethal .40 or .38 weapons. The new regulations open the way for civil, military, and transport police to purchase .45 handguns. The military command, which regulates gun sales in Brazil, said it changed the regulations in response to petitioning from state security forces. The move has already sparked controversy among some sectors. â€Å"They are giving weapons to the police that they don’t know how to use. This is putting the safety of the police and the population at risk,† a representative from violence prevention NGO Sou da Paz told O Globo. InSight Crime Analysis The decision to grant various police agencies access to more powerful weaponry is likely to prove controversial. Trust in the Brazilian police is low, amid widespread accusations of corruption, criminality and extrajudicial killings. Firefighters, who are allowed to carry weapons as part of the job, have also come under suspicion, with accusations that many form part of urban paramilitary groups while off-duty. The easing of the regulations could be linked to the ongoing conflict between criminal gang the First Capital Command (PCC) and the Sao Paulo police, which claimed the lives of at least 100 officers in 2012. The risk that rather than giving police another means to protect themselves, the increased availability of .45 weapons could only further fuel the conflict. Given past cases of Brazilian police selling weapons to criminal groups, there is a significant risk that these guns could fall into the hands of the gangs that are behind anti-police violence in much of the country. The high-power weapons could also end up being used by the vigilante militias that control many of Brazil’s favelas. Corrupt factions of the police and firefighting force are known to be members and collaborators of these militias.

Law of Contract Essay

A contract intends to formalize an agreement of two or more parties, in relation to a particular subject. Contracts can cover an extremely broad range of matters including the sale of goods or real property, the terms of employment or of an independent contractor relationship, the settlement of a dispute and ownership of intellectual property developed as part of work for hire. Essential Elements of a Contract * Clear certain and communicated agreement. Meaning that the parties are consensus ad idem or are of the same mind. The parties to the contract have mutual understanding of what the contract covers, eg. In a contract for the sale of a ‘mustang’ the buyer thinks that he will obtain a car and the seller believes he is contracting to sell a horse, there is no meeting of the minds and the contract will likely be held unenforceable. Offer and Acceptance Agreement = offer + acceptance Requirements of a valid offer * Offer must be definite. It must not: * Leave aspects of the agreement dependent upon the future will of parties (Kantor v Kantor) * Leave aspects of the agreement blank or open to subsequent negotiation (Bundell v Blan & King v Potgieter & Finestone v Humburg) * Contain wording which is vague * Offer must be made with the intention of being accepted by some other person. Excludes the following which are not offers but simply invitations to do business. * General statements of lowest price (Efroiken v Simon) * Statements of lowest price in response to a specific inquiry (Harvey v Facey) * Invitations to tender (Spencer v Harding) * Newspaper advertisements in general (Shepherd v Farrel Estate Agency) * Advertisements by transport companies of their charges for conveying goods (Frazer v Frank Johnson) * Displays in shop windows (Crawly v Rex) * Displays on self service counters (Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash Chemists Ltd) * Restaurant menus. Reward Cases Adverts constitutes offer (Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Co One reward is only offered first person doing what is required is entitled to that reward. (Lee v American Swiss Watch Co.) No reward may be claimed by anyone who fulfilled the requirement not knowing of that reward (Bloom v American Swiss Co.) What is required must be done voluntarily. * Offer must not have been revoked. Offer may have been revoked or lapse in one of the following ways: * Offeree is notified that it has been revoked. * Either the offeror or offeree dies. * Lapse of a reasonable period of time. * Supervening impossibility or illegality * Rejection as where the offoree makes a counter offer which contradicts the original offer by proposing specific alterations to the terms of that offer. * Offer must be one on which an optimal time limit has not expired. * Note: keeping an offer open until the offeree is in a position to accept is permissible, since the period, although unknown, is not indefinite (Hanekan v Mouton) * In the case of an option which is offered gratuitously, silence is not acceptance (Beinart v Zeffert) * The right of acceptance of an option, provided that it is also a cash sale, can be ceded. (Hersh v Nel) * Written acceptance of an oral option is only valid upon receipt regardless of the distance between the parties. (Smeiman v Volkersz) * A provisional option allows either party to withdraw before the due date, whilist an option for a limited time at the descetion of the offeror similarly allows that offeror to withdraw, as state at his discretion. (Gerson v United Tobacco Co.s) Termination of the Offer * By acceptance- an offer which has been accepted constitutes a contract. That offer is no longer available for acceptance. * By rejection- an offer is rejected if: 1) The offeree notifies the offeror that he does not wish to accept the offer. 2) The offeree attempts to accept the offer but subject to certain conditions. 3) The offeree makes a counter offer (Hyde v Wrench) * By revocation before acceptance- an offer may be revoked (withdrawn) any time before acceptance, but will only be effective when the offeree learns about it. * If the offer lapses-the offeror may stipulate that the offer is only open for a limited period of time. Once it has lapsed any acceptance is invalid. Even if no time limit is mentioned, the offer will not remain open indefinately. It must be accepted within a reasonable period of time. * Death- if the offeror dies after having made an offer and the offeree is notified of the death any acceptance will be invalid. * Failure of a condition attached to the offer. An offer may be made subject to conditions. Such a condition may be stated expressly by the offeror or implied by the courts from the circumstances. If the condition is not satisfied, the offer is not capable of being accepted. Requirement of a valid acceptance * Acceptance must be definite and unconditional. (Watermeyer v Murray & Jones v Reynolds) acceptance must be unequivocal and stated intention to accept is not adequate. (Boerne v Harris) * Acceptance must be communicated. * Mere stated intention to accept is insufficient. (Dietirchsen v Dietrichsen) * Acceptance may be ither expressly stated or manifested by conduct. (Reid Bros v Fisher Bearings Co) * Silence can not be acceptance. (East Asiatic Co.v Midland Manufacturing Co.) except where there is a duty expressly to repudiate as with brokers notes. (Benoni Produce & Coal Co. v Grendelfinger) * An offeror is free to dispense with the normal modes of communication to indicate alternative methods of acceptance eg by dispatch of goods (Rex v Net &Mackenzie v Farmer’s Co-op Ltd) * Where specific form of communication is demanded by the offerror acceptance by any other method is void. (Eliason v Henshaw) * Whilist an offeror may prescribe the manner of acceptance, he may not prescribe the manner of refusal.eg by taking acceptance for grantedif the offeree has not acted in a certain way by a certain time. (Felthouse v Bindley) Acceptance by post or telegram or telephone or telex In acceptance by post, the basic rule is that the manner of offer implies the manner of acceptance, consequently: * Where written acceptance follows a written offer, acceptance is valid at the timeof posting (Cape Explosive Works Ltd v Lever Brothers Ltd) * Where written acceptance follows an oral offer or option (Smeiman v Volkers) acceptance is only valid upon receipt regardless of the distance between the parties. But * Where offeror has demanded some other form of acceptance, written acceptance is void (Eliason v Henshaw). Note: * Acceptance to a wrong address due to the offeror’s fault, is valid unless the offeree knew or suspected without checking, but where the mistake is the offoree’s acceptance is void. * Acceptance to the correct address, where the offeror has left that address without notifying the offeree is valid. (Naude v Malcom) * Correctly addressed and posted acceptance which does not arrive is valid. (Household Fire Insurance Co. v Grant) * An address incorrectly spelt by the offeree will only postpone acceptance to the time of receipt if the error was so fundamental as to cause delay. (Levben Products Ltd v Alexander Films Ltd) * Acceptance must be made by person for whom the offer was intended. Right of acceptance can not be ceded by offeree to a third party. (Blew v Snoxell & Bird v Summerville) * Acceptance must not be based on some justifiably mistaken. A contracting party may only avoid a contract based on his mistake if: * Justus error was present and he was therefore blameless plus * Mistake was maternal and essential or important. Ticket Cases Unsigned document such as tickets or receipts, which contain terms waiving liability on the part of contracting party A which are unknown to the other party B. Thus B can only sue A if B is blameless and this will only be the case if all of the following apply * There was no public notice displaying the terms. * The terms were not pointed out. c) The ticket was not of the type. * Contractual Capacity, meaning that the parties are legally capable of contracting. Only persons can contract, a person having the capacity to acquire rights and duties. But not only natural persons can do so. Our law recognizes the existence of artificial persons who can likewise acquire rights and duties. The most important of these are companies incorporated in terms of the companies act. The general rule is that every person is able to contract freely, within the limits of the law. But there are certain persons of limited contractual capacity whose power to enter into binding agreements is limited. Minors: a minor is a unmarried person under the age of 18. During the term of his minority he is under the custody and lawful authority of a guardian whose duty it is to maintain the minor until he can maintain himself, administer his property and assist him in contracting. * Unassisted contracts A minor may not, as a general rule sue or be sued or contract without the assistance of his guardian should he attempt to do so the contract is void. The Roman Dutch authorities speak of such purpoted contracts as being void in one direct (that is as far as the minor is concerned) and valid in another (that is as far as the other is concerned. A minor may, however, in certain cases acquire a perfectly valid obligation without his guardian’s assistance. These obligations are only exceptionally contractual, even though they often arise in the course of attempts to contract. * Enrichment Wherever a minor is unjustly enriched in terms of a purpoted contract he is bound to the extent that he is enriched. He is bound to restore to the other party to the purpoted contract so much of what he has received as remains in his possession or to pay a sum of money to the value of the advantage received. But the minor is not bound by the contract, the contract remains void. His obligation arises simply because he has been enriched at someone else’s expense. (Tanne v Foggit) * Fraudulent Misrepresentation of Majority Where a minor fraudulently misrepresents his age or pretends that he has been emancipated and by so doing deceives another person who is induced to contract with the minor, believing him to be of full age or emancipated, the minor incurs an obligation. But once again the obligation is not contractual. The minor is not bound by the contract, which is void. But the fraud being a delict, he is bound delictually to make good to the other party any loss he suffered as a result of the fraud. It is essential that the other person be misled, otherwise there can be no loss as a result of the fraud. It follows that a minor must be of such an age that it is possible for an innocent person to be misled. * Tacit Emancipation Where a minor is tacitly emancipated he can incur a binding contractual obligation within the field of his emancipation. Tacit emancipation occurs where a minor is allowed by his guardian to carry on business, or any other occupation, on his own behalf. In such circumstances the minor may himself validly contract in regards to that business. He may not, however, contract outside that business without his guardian’s consent. * Ratification Where a minor purports to contract without his guardian’s consent the contract may be subsequently ratified by either guardian, when the effect is precisely the same as if the guardian had consented at the time of the contract or the minor himself on attaining majority. Such ratification may be express or implied. It is implied eg where a person after attaining his majority, continues to use an article, which he purpoted to buy during his minority as his own, or indicates otherwise by his actions an intention to be bound. (Stuttaford & Co v Oberholzer) Once the ratification has taken place the contract is rendered valid and effective from the time of the purpoted agreement. The authority which was lacking is supplied by the subsequent ratification. Assisted contracts A minor is bound either by contracts on his behalf by his guardian or by contracts made by himself with the assistance of the guardian. * Mentally ill persons A purpoted contract made by a mentally ill person is void if at the time of agreement he could not understand and appreciate the transaction into which he purpoted to enter or if his consent was motivated or influenced by an insane decision cause by mental disease. All persons are presumed to be sane, unless they have been declared mentally disordered by an expert in the medical field. The contract is presumed void unless it can be shown that it was entered into at a time when the person concerned was in full possession of his faculties. (Prisloo’s Curators v Crafford & Prinsloo) or that his state of mind was such that he was able to understand the nature of the contract into which he entered and to appreciate properly the duties and responsibilities which were created by that contract. * Drunk Persons Where a person enters into a purpoted contract while so drunk that he does not know he is entering into a contract or he has no idea of the terms of the contract, the contract is void. The fact of drunken ness will not prevent the person concerned from incurring an obligation on the ground of enrichment. * Prodigals A prodigal (that is a person declared by the court to be incapable of managing his affairs as a result of a propensity to squander his assets) cannot contract with regard to his property. If he purports to do so the contract is void. Ut outside the field of his property he is entitled to contract freely. He may marry. The court in declaring a person to be prodigal appoints a curator bonis whose duties are to administer the affairs of the prodigal, subject to the overriding approval of the courts. * Insolvent Persons The sequestration of the estate of insolvent divests him of his estate and vests it, after appointment in a trustee. Property which he subsequently acquires before rehabilitation also vests in the trustee with certain exceptions. Certain restrictions are place on his freedom to contract, but he is in all other respects fully capable of contracting The restrictions are: -an insolvent may not contract in such a way as to purport to dispose of any property of his insolvent estate. -he may not without the written consent of his trustee enter into any contract whereby his estate is likely to be adversely affected. -he may not without the written consent of his trustee have any interest in or be employed in the business of a trader who is a general dealer. Should the insolvent, however purpot to contract in breach of these provisions of the act the contract is not void. It remains valid until it is set aside by the trustee. * Persons who have been convicted of Crime In certain cases, which do not require setting out in detail, ad which vary dependency on the crime committed and the sentence, imposed convicted persons are subject to various disqualification eg if convicted of theft, fraud, forgery or perjury and sentenced to imprisonment, they are disqualified from being appointed company directed. * Alien Enemies An alien enemy (namely a person residing or carrying on business in enemy territory) may not sue on our courts and all commercial relations with him is prohibited. * Serious Intent, meaning the parties intend their agreement to be binding and legally enforceable. When parties enter into an agreement ‘subject to contract’ they are expressly stating that they will not be bound unless and until a formal contract is drawn up. * Necessary Formalities. In some cases , certain formalities (writing) must be observed. * Contracts which must be in the form of a deed. Certain transactions involving land require a deed that is conveyances, legal mortgages and leases for more than 3 years. A promise of a gift is not binding unless in this form. * Contracts which must be in writing a contract for the sale or other disposition of land can only be made in writing and only by incorporating all the terms which the parties have expressly agreed. In one document or where the contracts are exchanged in each. The document must be signed by or on behalf of each party to the contract. Bills of exchange, cheques and promissory notes must be in writing. Similarly the transfer of shares in a limited company must be in writing. Employment contracts should be in writing with terms and conditions of employment. * Possibility of performance that is performance of the contract must be possible. * Legality that is the agreement must be lawful. The purpose of the agreement must not be illegal or contrary to public policy where a contract involves some wrong doing, It will be illegal. If however, the conduct is neither immoral or blameworthy but simply undesirable the contract will be void. A court may object to an agreement either because of a rule of common law or because it is contrary to statute. Contracts illegal at common law * Contracts to commit crimes or civil wrongs eg a contract to assassinate someone or to defraud Zimra * Contracts involving sexual immorality * Contracts tending to promote corruption eg contract to bribe an official. * Contracts trading with an enemy of the state * Contracts directed against the welfare of a friendly foreign state. * Contract prejudicial to the administration of justice eg contract not to prosecute a person for an offence concerning the public. * Genuineness of Consent The agreement must have been entered into freely and involves a meeting of the minds. The agreement must not be invalidated by a number of factors, mistake, misrepresentation, duress and undue influence. * Mistake The general rule is that mistake does not affect the validity of a contract. The guiding principle is the caveat emptor which means ‘let the buyer beware.’ So if a person agrees to pay $1000 for a car which in reality is only worth $500, the contract is valid and he must stand the loss. It should be noted that a mistake at law will not invalidate a contract, since everyone is presumed to know the law. There are , however some kinds of mistake which so undermine the agreement that the contract is void. If this is the case, no rights of ownership can pass and any goods which have changed hands can be recovered. A mistake will invalidate the contract in the following situations. * Mistakes as to the subject matter of the contract. The parties may be mistaken as to the identity of the subject matter. If a seller makes an offer in respect of one thing and the buyer accepts, thinking of something else, the parties are clearly talking at cross purposes and there is no contract. * – mistake as to the identity of one of the parties. This may invalidate the contract where the identity of the party to the contract is material to the contract, a mistake will result in the contract being void. Where the identity of the party is not material, the contract will be valid until the mistaken party avoids the contract for misrepresentation. * Mistaken signing of a written document. As a general rule, a person who signs a document is assumed to have read, understood and agreed to its contents. Exceptionally, a person may not be able to plead ‘nonest factum’- ‘it is not my deed.’ 3 factors must be present if the contract is to be avoided, the signature must have been induced by fraud, the document signed must be fundamentally different from that thought to be signed and the signer must not have acted negligently. Rescission of terms The court may be prepared to set aside an agreement provided the parties accept the conditions imposed by the court for a fairer solution to the problem Rectification If a mistake is made in reducing an oral agreement into writing, the court may rectify the document so that it expresses the true intention of the parties. Specific performance A court may refuse to grant an order for specific performance against a party who made a mistake, if it would be unfair to enforce the contract against him. * Misrepresentation The formation of a contract is often preceded by a series of negotiations between the parties. Some of the statements made may turn out to be false. The nature of the statement will determine whether a remedy is available and if it is what type of remedy. A false stamen which is not incorporated into the contract is known as misrepresentation. A misrepresentation is a false statement made by one party to induce the other to enter into a contract. It must be shown that the statement has induced the person to whom it was made to enter into a contract. Kinds of misrepresentation and their effects There are 3 kinds of misrepresentation; fraudulent, negligent or innocent. In each case the contract is voidable. * Fraudulent Misrepresentation If the person making the statement knows that what he said is false, he will be liable for fraud. The injured party may rescind the contract and also sue for damages for the deceit. * Negligent Misrepresentation This is where the person making the false statement has reasonable grounds for believing it to be true. Damages may be awarded for a negligent misstatement. * Innocent Misrepresentation Is a false statement made by a person who had reasonable grounds to believe that it was true, not only when it was made, but also when the contract was entered into. The basic remedy is rescission of the contract. Rescission It aims to restore the parties to their pre contractual positions. Money or goods which have changed hands must be returned. * Duress and Undue Influence The general rule of law is that a contract will only be valid if the parties entered into it freely and voluntarily. Where a party to a contract or his family is subjected to threats of violence, the contract may be avoided on the grounds of duress. In undue influence, the relationship between the parties may be such that one occupies a position of dominance and influence over the other. There are several relationships such as doctor and patient, solicitor and client, parent and child where it is automatically assumed that undue influence has been at work. The contract will be set aside unless the dominant person can prove that the complainant had independent advice. Where there is no special relationship between the parties the complainant must prove that pressure was applied. Breach of Contract This may occur in a number of ways. It may be an anticipatory or actual breach. * Anticipatory Breach This is where a party states in advance that he does not intend to carry out his side of the contract or puts himself in a position whereby he will be unable to perform. The injured party may sue immediately for breach of contract or alternatively wait for the time for performance to arrive to see whether the other party is prepared to carry out the contract. * Actual Breach One party may completely fail to perform his side of the bargain or he may fail to carry out one or some of his obligations. Not every breach of contract has the effect of discharging the parties from their contractual obligations. The terms of the contract may be divided into those terms which are important (conditions) and the less important terms (warranties). A breach of a condition does not automatically terminate the contract. The injured party has a choice: he may wish to be discharged from the contract and claim damages for the breach. A breach of warranty only entitles the injured party to sue for damages. Remedies Every breach of contract will give the injured party the right to recover damages (financial compensation) other remedies such as specific performance and injunction, may be granted at the discretion of the court as part of its equitable jurisdiction. Damages In the business world it is quite common for the parties to agree in advance the damages that will be payable in the event of a breach of contract. These are known as liquidated damages. If there is no prior agreement as to the sum to be paid, the amount of damages is said to be unliquidated damages. Liquidated Damages The parties establish at the outset of their relationship the financial consequences of failing to live up to their bargain. Provided the parties have made a genuine attempt to estimate the likely loss, the courts will accept the relevant figure as the damages payable knowing the likely outcome of any legal action, the party at fault will simply pay up without argument. Unliquidated Damages The aim is to put the injured party in the position he would have been if the contract had been carried out properly. Damages are designed to compensate for the loss. If no loss has been suffered, the court will only award nominal damages: a small sum to mark the fact that there had been a breach of contract. Equitable Remedies The normal remedy for breach of contract is an award of damages at common law. There are some situations, however where damages would neither be adequate nor appropriate. Equity developed other forms of relief to ensure that justice is done. The more important of these equitable remedies are specific performance and injunction. Specific Performance A decree of specific performance is an order of the court requiring the party in breach to carry out his contractual obligations. Failure to comply with the directions of the court, lays the defendant open to imposition of penalties for contempt of court. Injunction This is an order of the court requiring the party at fault not to break the contract. Its main use is to enforce the negative promises that can that can occassionaly be found in employment contracts. The employee may agree eg not to work in a similar capacity for a rival employer during the period of his contract. Cancellation of the Contract The parties to a contract may expressly agree that breach of a certain term will entitle one of them to cancel the contract. Such express terms entitling cancellation may take any form, but the most common are forefeiture clauses, fore closure clauses and the lex commissoria. A forefeiture clause in a contract of letting and hiring is a clause which entitles the landlord to cancel the lease and have the tenant ejected. If the tenant is in breach of certain specified terms one of which is usually the payment of rent on the due date. In the absence of such a forefeiture cluse, a term governing the payment of the rent on a particular date is not material term and the land lord canot therefore terminate the contract merely on the ground that the lesee is in arrear with the rent. A foreclosure clause in a mortgage is a clause entitling the mortgagee to call up the bond where the mortgagor is in default usually by non payment of interest on due date. A lex commissoria is a provision in a contract of sale that the seller is entitled to cancel the contract on breach of one or other of the terms of the contract usually non payment of an instalment in the case of a sale where payment is made by instalments. Such a lex commissoria may, and usually does, contain valid penal provisions entitling the seller to retain so much of the purchase price as had already been paid to him, despite his cancellationof the contract and recovery of the subject matter of the sale. Termination of Contracts Performance A contract is terminated by the performance of the reciprocal obligations of the parties. Set off Where 2 parties are in debt to each other and the debts are due and liquidated, both debts are automatically extinguished if they are of the sameamount. If one is larger than the other, the smaller is extinguished and the larger automatically reduced by the amount of the smaller debt. Merger It is the concurrence of the debtor and creditor in the same person and in respect of the same obligation. It destroys the obligations in respect of which it operates. Thus if x is the tenant of y and he purchases the property from y, the lease comes to an end and for the capacities of landlord and tenant are merged in x. Agreement The parties may by agreement put an end to contractual obligations by waiver or novation. In both cases the express or implied agreement of both parties is necessary. * Waiver Is the abandonment of rights by one or both parties to a contract. It is itself a contract which requires offer and acceptance in the ordinary way. Agreement to waive may be implied, but the courts will not lightly infer the abandonment of a right. It must appear clearly from the words or conduct of the parties. The person who waives a right can only effectively do so if he has full knowledge of the right. If he purports to waive a right while ignorant of its extent even as a result of ignorance of the law the waiver is ineffective, despite the rule ignoratia uris haud excusat, provided the ignorance is probable and justifiable. The abandonment may be of all rights under the contract, which is in other words cancelled by mutual agreement, or of only certain of the rights eg waiver of one party only. Novation It occurs where the parties agree to a new contract which replaces the only one completely. The original contract is therefore terminated a new contract comes into being. The new contract, may indeed bring third parties to the original contract into the new one as parties (eg assignment and delegation) Cession on the other hand is really something different. There is not a rule to the new contract and therefore no novation. The original contract remains in existence but the right to receive performance is ceded by the cedent to the cessionary. Compromise is an agreement between persons for the settlement of a matter in dispute, each party abating some of its previous demands. If parties to a contract dispute each other’s rights in terms of the contract and subsequently they compromise their rights are regulated by the compromise and not by the original contract which falls away. In such a case, as the parties enter into a new contract which replaces the old one, it is clear that compromise is a form of novation and the ordinary rules apply eg a compromise requires strict proof, the presumption being against it. Insolvency The contractual rights and duties of an insolvent are affected in various ways by the sequestration of his estate. The majority of the rights and duties of the insolvent vest automatically in the master of the supreme court until the appointment of a trustee when they vest in the trustee. It is the duty of the trustee to recover all debts due to the estate, to liquidate the estate and to distribute the proceeds among the creditors who have proved claims against the estate. Insolvency is terminated by rehabilitation by court order. Rehabilitation discharges all debts of the insolvent, which were due, or the cause of which had arisen before sequestration. Death Death of a party does not terminate the contract. A form of compulsory assignment takes place and the rights and duties of the deceased, other than in terms of contracts involving personal skill which are terminated, pass to the executor.