ABSTRACT
In forming a contract, in addition to looking for an offer, acceptance and consideration, the court looks for a genuine intention to be legally bound. Without legal intent (or intention to create legal relations) an agreement may appear to contain the elements of a contract, but will not be enforceable legally. It is reasonable for the court to look for this requirement, since in many everyday situations people who have formed some kind of agreement would not expect or intend to create a contract, and would not wish to be bound by one, for example in social arrangements. On the other hand, it is quite easy to form an agreement, even in the course of business dealings, without actually saying or writing very much, but with a definite intention to be bound by it; for example in shopping, where it is often a matter of the customer handing over goods to be wrapped, the seller fully expecting to receive money for them. It is important here that the court can identify some legal intent, rather than just a general matter of trust. The cases concerning this issue fall into the following two categories:
social and domestic arrangements
commercial agreements.
