According to the law of obligations, in order for a contract to be concluded, mutual and compatible declarations of will must be made. Therefore, declaration is a constitutive element for contracts. This declaration may be in the form of an invitation (proposal), invitation to perform or acceptance. An invitation is a declaration of will in which one of the parties proposes to the other to conclude a contract between them, which must reach the addressee. When the expression of invitation is announced, the contract has not yet been concluded. In order for the contract to come into existence, the other party must declare the declaration of acceptance compatible with the invitation. In other words, acceptance means that the party to whom the offer is made makes an appropriate and positive declaration of will with the intention to participate in the offer. The difference between acceptance and invitation is that it is a transaction that gives rise to novelty. The offer and acceptance may be made without any formal requirements.
What is the difference between an invitation and an invitation to accept?
An invitation must have the essential elements of a contract. Otherwise, the declaration of will is not an offer but an invitation to make an offer. For example, in order for a declaration of will to be characterised as an invitation, the elements of the contract must be explicitly expressed by the person making the invitation. If a person enters a clothing store and says that he only wants to buy clothes, his statement will be an invitation to perform, not an offer, since the expression will remain vague. However, if he specifies exactly which clothes he wants to buy, it has the force of an invitation. While the invitation to accept is binding, the invitation to accept is not binding.
What are the Types of Acceptance?
The acceptance statement can be divided into two as explicit or tacit (closed). Open acceptance is definite and clear. It is literally the equivalent of an invitation. Implied acceptance, on the other hand, is that the addressee does not show the will to accept explicitly, but is understood from his/her state and behaviour. Sometimes it may also be in the form of silence.