Lawin4 Intention Certainty Contracts

Hi, you're listening to the Australian Law Student Law in 4 podcast, your go-to podcast for legal insights in four minutes or less.

I'm Nick Hodgkinson, and today we're talking about intention and certainty.

But first, our obligatory disclaimer. The Law in 4 is produced by law students for law students.

It is not, nor is it intended to constitute, legal advice.

If you require legal assistance, you should contact your local law society who can direct you appropriately.

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Right, at the heart of every contract lies the intention to create legal relations, but deciphering intention can be a labyrinthine endeavour.

Let's explore its various facets.

In contexts which were imbued with domestic or social nuances, discerning an intent to enter into a legally binding contract can be challenging.

The burden will rest on the party seeking to prove such intent, as highlighted in homogenous and Greek orthodoxy.

The new law says that legal transactions are not the intention to create legal relations which signify the intent to develop a legal relationship with the service.

In commercial settings, whether the transaction is part of a commercial arrangement or aligns with government policy can impact the intent to create legal relations, as seen in Australian woolen mills and the Commonwealth.

For example, in a commercial setting, the parties intended to create legal relations should not prove otherwise.

This presumption is exemplified in Bank Brussels Lambert SA and Australian National Industries.

Government agreements add another layer of complexity.

Whether a transaction is part of a commercial arrangement or aligns with government policy,

can impact the intent to create legal relations, as seen in Australian woolen mills and Commonwealth.

Preliminary agreements, as desired, are not legal solutions.

as delineated in Masters and Cameron, encompass various scenarios, each with their own binding

implications. From agreements subject to future formal instruments to immediately binding contracts

with provisions for subsequent variations, things become a bit tricky. Moving now to certainty.

In the sale of land, for instance, the absence of essential terms like price will render a contract

void, as established in Hall and Bust. Similarly, contracts for the sale of goods necessitate

reasonably implied prices, adhering to market standards. Uncertain terms will pose further

challenges for us. While severable provisions can salvage contracts, as seen in Council of the

Upper Hunter County District and Australian Chilling and Freezing, courts hesitate to enforce

provisions which are marred by ambiguity or illusory promises, and you can refer also to

Whitlock and Brew. Illusory promises, which grant absolute discretion to one party, undermine the

enforceability of contracts, per Biotechnology Australia and

PACE. However, clauses subject to satisfactory finance or third-party determinations can

mitigate this risk. Okay, and with that we've navigated through the labyrinth of intention

to create legal relations and the imperative of certainty. Join us next time on the Australian

Law Student Law in 4 podcast. As always, if you have any suggestions, please email us at

team at theoslawstudent.com or leave a comment in your review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Thank you.