What Is Law

Law is a pervasive influence on our lives affecting almost everything we do. In early days human needs were rather basic such as food and shelter but present day expectations are much higher and most certainly include education, recreation and acceptable standard of living. We enter into contracts every day. These contracts are made orally, such as boarding a bus, buying coffee at a shop, buying a reload phone card. However sometimes written contracts are required, such as when buying a house or a car.

The word 'contract' may be defined as 'an agreement enforceable by law'. In other words, a contract is an agreement which is legally binding between the parties. As may be obvious from this definition, the notion of 'agreement' lies at the heart of all contracts and is their essential basis. Agreement is then the bedrock of contract. It is essential, however, to distinguish the notions of 'agreement' on the one hand and 'contract' on the other. Although 'agreement' is an integral part of a contract, it is not, by itself, sufficient and would fall short of a contract. Before an agreement becomes a contract, certain other elements must also be satisfied. Hence, the saying that 'all contracts are agreements, but not all agreements are contracts'. The Contracts Act makes this clear. Section 2 states, inter alia, that an agreement enforceable by law is a contract and that one that is not enforceable is void. Further, section 10(1) declares that 'all agreements are contracts if they are made by the free consent of parties competent to contract. The legislation in Malaysia government contracts is the Contracts Act 1950.