Minors are legally bound when a contract provides them with “necessities” or goods and services deemed necessary or beneficial to them. [3] This obligation is codified in section 3 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, which stipulates that the first set of reforms to the Companies Act 1989 was to stipulate that contracts remain valid and that third parties are not affected if an agreement is ultra vires. [32] Only if a party to contracts with a company has acted in bad faith in cold blood, knowing that an entity has exceeded its capacity, can a contract still lose its validity. [33] The second round of reforms took place in the 2006 law. Now, it is assumed that companies have unlimited properties unless they opt for restrictions. [34] This means that companies no longer need to design massive object clauses. The 2006 reforms also clarified the legal situation that if a company has limited objectives (which is likely to become increasingly rare), an ultra vires law will result in directors violating an obligation to comply with the Constitution under Section 171. Therefore, a shareholder who disagrees with an act outside the assets of the corporation must sue the directors for any loss. However, some contracts cannot be cancelled. In particular, a minor remains responsible for certain contractual obligations: as a rule, minors who conclude sports or entertainment contracts are bound to them and cannot cancel them at will. However, it is recognized that minors and persons considered to be mentally handicapped must be able to conclude binding agreements when acquiring goods essential to life or employment.
[2] Therefore, contracts for what is necessary (goods or services deemed necessary for normal life) will always be legally binding. [3] Similarly, minors may conclude employment contracts if the provisions of such an agreement are in their public interest. [4] Otherwise, they can choose to circumvent the contract and return their property. Until the reform of the Companies Act 1989, companies were also considerably limited in the range of contracts to which they could enter into under their subject matter clause. If the directors or officers of a corporation enter into an agreement with another person or corporation and that agreement goes beyond the list of business obligations set out in the articles of the corporation, the contract will be void if the third party knowingly operated the company in bad faith. Otherwise, the contract will remain in effect under the Companies Act 2006 and shareholders must sue the director or officer for losses. [5] A legal definition of the term “necessary” is found in section 2(3) of the Ghana Sales of Goods Act 1962 (Act 137), which states that “necessities are goods that are proportionate to the state of life of the person to whom they are delivered and their actual needs at the time of delivery.” Although the burden of proof that a contract is intended for what is necessary lies with the supplier, contracts in this form have been found in a variety of situations, including costly and far-reaching purchases. [7] The definition of “necessities” includes obvious purchases such as food and clothing, but also services or goods that promote school or learning. The needs of one minor do not necessarily reflect those of another. Special circumstances, such as age and immediate needs, can lead to different outcomes. [7] For example, in Peters v.
Fleming,[8] it has been said that a gold ring and a watch chain were needed for the child of an MP. [9] However, a contract may not be intended for a necessary purpose if the needs of a minor are adequately met or if a purchase can be considered unnecessary. This is evidenced by Nash v. Inman,[10] where a tailor`s claim that the purchase of 11 vests was made by a child for what was needed failed on the grounds that he already had adequate clothing. [7] For example, perhaps the largest number of enforceable de minimis contracts concern necessities consisting of goods reasonably necessary for subsistence, health, comfort or education. Therefore, contracts that make these items available to a minor cannot be excluded. When basic necessities are sold and delivered to a minor. he must pay a reasonable price for them.
There are two ways to declare a contract invalid. This may include filing an action demanding that the court cancel the contracts, and the other is by a defense if they are sued for breach of contract. A minor must cancel the entire contract if he decides to cancel it at all; they cannot delete certain articles. The minor may also be asked to pay some form of refund for products or services they have already received. In English law, capacity refers to the ability of a Party to enter into legally binding relationships. If a party is unable to do so, subsequent contracts may be invalid; However, in the interests of security, there is a prima facie presumption that both parties have the capacity to enter into contracts. Those who contract without fully knowing the subject concerned, or those who are illiterate or unfamiliar with the English language, are often not exempt from their good deals. [1] Cancellable Contract: Contract valid but legally voidable at the choice of one of the parties. In certain circumstances, the contraction by a guardian (vis-à-vis the minor child) binds the child to adulthood. Some types of contracts that can be an exception to the rules are: Although it is clear that contracts of necessity can legally bind minors, the terms of such a contract can cancel it. If a contract contains particularly onerous or unfair terms, the courts may find that a minor is not in a position to be bound by them. [11] If a minor rented a car and it had an accident through no fault of his own,[12] the owner could not recover because a contractual period placed the car entirely at the minor`s risk.
[11] This decision was accepted as correct, but replaced by Ashbury Railway Carriage and Iron Co Ltd v Riche (1875) LR 7 HL 653. In this case, the company had the clause “manufacture and sell or lease railway cars”. But then the directors granted a loan for the construction of railways in Belgium. The House of Lords simply regarded the law as ultra vires and, therefore, null and void. It is believed that this policy protects shareholders and creditors whose investments or loans are not used for unforeseen purposes by disobedient directors. However, it soon became clear that the ultra-vires rule limited the flexibility of companies to grow in order to take advantage of market opportunities. Invalid contracts can hinder business unexpectedly and arbitrarily. In an attempt to circumvent the rule, companies have begun to design longer and longer object clauses, often adding an additional provision stating that all objects must be interpreted as completely separate or that the objects of the company contain everything that the directors deem appropriate ancillary to the company.
[31] One of the largest areas of enforceable minor treaties deals with what is needed […].