ABSTRACT
As will be seen from the questions in this chapter, problems concerning the communication of offer and acceptance are often asked. In particular, students will need to be familiar with:
❖ the ‘postal rule’ (Adams v Lindsell (1818)) – the types of communication to which it applies, and the situations in which it does not apply;
❖ silence as acceptance – the rule in Felthouse v Bindley (1862), and possible exceptions to it;
❖ the problems, many of them unresolved by the courts, of electronic communications, such as faxes, email and Internet contracts. Does the postal rule apply to them? If not, when and where do they take effect?; and
❖ the rules governing revocation of an offer, in both bilateral and unilateral contracts – can there be revocation once performance of a unilateral contract has started?
