Consensus as a critical basis for contractual commitment Philani Lithandane Ndlovu

Consensus is a critical basis for contractual commitment. It is true agreement. A contract is formed when two people agree concerning the creation of legally relevant obligations, rights and duties. It constitutes the subjective element of contract formation since legal commitment is based on the internal thoughts of an individual which are not capable of verification by another party. The strict adherence to consensus as the basis for commitment would yield inequitable results hence the need to complement it by means of the objective element, namely paying attention to the objective element in terms of which intention to be bound in terms of an agreement is determined by analysing the conduct manifested the parties to the contract.