The Law of Contract
（新加坡合同法）
SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION 导论
8.1.1 Contract law in Singapore is largely based on the common law of contract in England. Unlike its neighbours Malaysia and Brunei, following Independence in 1965, Singapore´s Parliament made no attempt to codify Singapore´s law of contract. Accordingly, much of the law of contract in Singapore remains in the form of judge-made rules. In some circumstances, these judge-made rules have been modified by specific statutes.
新加坡的合同法基本上是以英国关于合同的普通法为范式而构建的。与它的邻居马来西亚和文莱不同的是，新加坡在1965年独立之后并没有试图编纂新加坡的合同法，因此新加坡的合同法仍保持判例法规则的模式。在某些情况下，判例法的规则已经被特定的成文法所修改。
8.1.2 Many of these statutes are English in origin. To begin with, 13 English commercial statutes have been incorporated as part of the Statutes of the Republic of Singapore by virtue of s 4 of the Application of English Law Act (Cap 7A, 1993 Rev Ed). These are listed in Part II of the First Schedule of this Act. Other statutes, eg the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act (Cap 53B, 2002 Rev Ed), are modelled upon（仿效）English statutes. There are also other areas where statutory development based on non-English models has taken place, eg the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (Cap 52A, 2004 Rev Ed) (which was largely drawn from fair trading legislation enacted in Alberta and Sasketchewan).
许多此类立法起源于英国。首先来说，有13个英国商事法律根据《英国法律适用法》（Application of English Law Act) 第四节（Cap 7A, 1993年修订）的规定直接成为新加坡共和国的立法。这些立法罗列在该法的第二部分的第一附表里。其他立法，如《合同第三方权利法》（Contracts( Rights of Third Parties) Act）(Cap 53B, 2002 修订)，系模仿英国立法制定的。在某些领域也有立法采用非英国模式的情形，比如《消费者保护（公平交易）法》(Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act)（Cap 52A, 2004年修订）。该法大致上参照[加拿大]阿尔伯塔与萨卡其万两省的公平交易法制定。
8.1.3 The rules developed in the Singapore courts do, nevertheless, bear a very close resemblance to those developed under English common law. Indeed, where there is no Singapore authority specifically on point, it will usually be assumed that the position will, in the first instance, be no different from that in England.
即使是新加坡的法庭本身所发展出的规则也同英国普通法的同类规则有非常大的相似性。如果关于某个问题新加坡本身没有权威规则时，人们就会理所当然地首先假定新加坡的立场同英国法的立场没有什么区别.
SECTION 2 OFFER AND ACCEPTANCE要约和承诺
Agreement协议
8.2.1 A contract is essentially an agreement between two or more parties, the terms of which affect their respective rights and obligations which are enforceable at law. Whether the parties
have reached agreement, or a meeting of the minds, is objectively ascertained from the facts. The concepts of offer and acceptance provide in many, albeit not all, cases the starting point for analysing whether agreement has been reached.
合同在本质上是双方或者多方之间的协议，该协议条款涉及到当事人各自的权利义务并且具有法律约束力。至于当事人之间是否达成协议，或合意（consensus ad idem）, 应通过对事实的客观分析而确定。在大多数–但并非所有的情况下，要约与承诺的概念是分析当事人是否达成协议的起点。
Offer要约
8.2.2 An offer is a promise, or other expression of willingness, by the `offeror´ to be bound on certain specified terms upon the unqualified acceptance of these terms by the person to whom the offer is made (the `offeree´). Provided the other formation elements (ie consideration and intention to create legal relations) are present, the acceptance of an offer results in a valid contract.
一个要约即是“要约人”发出的一项允诺或其他形式的自愿意思表示，表明经“受要约人”无条件承诺某些确定的条款，“要约人”即受这些条款的约束。如合同成立的其他要素亦得满足（如对价和设立法律关系的意旨），对要约的承诺会导致一个有效的合同。
8.2.3 Whether any particular statement amounts to an offer depends on the intention with which it is made. An offer must be made with the intention to be bound. On the other hand, if a person is merely soliciting offers or requesting for information, without any intention to be bound, at best, he or she would be making an invitation to treat. Under the objective test, a person may be said to have made an offer if his or her statement (or conduct) induces a reasonable person to believe that the person making the offer intends to be bound by the acceptance of the alleged offer, even if that person in fact had no such intention.
一个特定的表述是否构成要约有赖于表述的意旨。要约必须具有受拘束的意旨。如果某人只是引诱他人作出要约，或者只是询问情况，而并没有受拘束的意旨，那他或她最多只是在作出要约邀请。按照客观标准，如果某人的表述（或者行为）致使一个通情达理的人相信发出要约者具有在该要约被承诺后接受拘束的意旨，则即使该人实际上没有此种意旨，他也被认为是发出了一项要约。
Termination of Offer要约终止
8.2.4 An offer may be terminated by withdrawal at any time prior to its acceptance, provided there is communication, of the withdrawal to the offeree, whether by the offeror or through some reliable source. Rejection of an offer, which includes the making of a counter-offer or a variation of the original terms, terminates the offer. In the absence of an express stipulation as to time, an offer will lapse after a reasonable time. What this amounts to depends on the particular facts of the case. Death of the offeror, if known to the offeree, would render the offer incapable of being accepted by the offeree. Even in the absence of such knowledge, death of either party terminates any offer which has a personal element.
要约在承诺之前的任何时候都可以撤回，只要由要约人亲自或者通过其他可信的渠道向受要约人发出撤回通知。对要约的拒绝导致要约失效，这包括发出反要约或者改变原要约的条款。如要约对时效没有明确规定，则该要约在合理时间之后失效。这种情况到底何所指，这要根据案件的具体事实来分析。如果要约人死亡且此事实已为受要约人知晓，则要约就不能够被后者接受。任何一方死亡的事实，即使不为他方知晓，也会导致任何具有人