Читать книгу Canadian Business Contracts Handbook - Nishan Swais - Страница 24

The second component of a contract is acceptance. How does acceptance stem from the notion of drawing together?

The offeror has made an offer. The offeree now has the option of either rejecting or accepting what was offered. If the offeree rejects the offer (i.e., says “no” to it), there is no sense in which we can say that the persons involved have been drawn together. Accordingly, rejecting an offer cannot be a step in creating a contract, at law. This conclusion is common sense.

However, if the offeree accepts the offer (i.e., says “yes” to it), we will have taken the second step on the way to forming a contract, which is acceptance. Acceptance is another step in drawing together: You ask and I say yes. Again, both common sense and the law acknowledge that we are now jointly taking action to form some sort of relationship with each other.

As was the case with an offer, not everything that looks like acceptance is acceptance.