Page 28 - Q&A

2. There must be consensus between the parties in that they intended an
agreement to result from their actions. This essentially means that the offer
by one party (the offeror) must be clearly accepted by the other party (the
offeree) and requires that an offer must contain sufficient information to
enable the person to whom it is addressed to form a clear idea of exactly
what the offeror has in mind. The proposed offer must also be a firm offer.
A tentative statement to possibly contract in the future will not be deemed
sufficient to amount to a valid offer, and acceptance thereof will not result
in the formation of a valid agreement.
Commercial 3. The parties must have the capacity to contract. In South African law
every living person and/or legal entity is presumed to have the capacity
to contract unless limited or excluded due to age or other factors. It is
important to remember that generally only persons over the age of 18 have
full contractual capacity in terms of South African law. Persons under the
age of 18 are referred to as minors and must be assisted or represented by
a legal guardian.
4. The agreement must be legal and lawful in order to be enforceable. If it is
against the law, it will not be legally enforceable.
5. The content of the agreement must be certain and the agreement must
have fixed and definite terms.
6. The obligations must be capable of performance, or else it will not be
legally enforceable.
7. All necessary formalities must be observed if applicable. Generally, there
are no prescribed formalities for the conclusion of a contract, unless a
specific law determines otherwise such as for property sales.
If these requirements are met a valid contract will be created. If we then assess
your communications with the photographer it does appear from what you
have said that the necessary intention to conclude a contract was not there
and that you were merely obtaining information. If, however, the photographer
continues to insist that a contract was formed it may be worthwhile to approach
your attorney for assistance to help clarify the position with the photographer.

21