ABSTRACT
Procurement professionals enter into a variety of agreements and must understand the essential elements for their being enforceable: an offer and acceptance, definiteness, consideration by both parties (mutuality), competency of the parties, and legal purpose—the elements that ultimately define the heart of public procurement. Certain defects in the contract process and rare, unexpected events can permit a party to disavow or void a contract. Government contracts essentially have the same elements as commercial contracts, although they differ in important ways—not the least of which are legislative competition requirements. Public procurement professionals must understand this core part of their practice in order to effectively satisfy their contractual obligations and protect the rights that contracts legally create.
