Email and Postal Rules - Essay Example

The postal rule or mailbox rule or postal acceptance rule is an expression used in the common law contract, which helps to establish the timing of an offer and acceptance when mail is considered as a medium of receipt. The common principle states that a contract can only be formed when acceptance is communicated to an offer. However, the postal rule is an exception to the common principle as it states that a contract can only be formed when a properly addressed and prepaid letter of acceptance is posted. One justification given for this rule can be said to be that the offered appoints the post office as its agent and the receipt of acceptance taken by the post office is regarded as that taken by the person the offer has been made to. Its main effect is that the danger of acceptance being lost or delivered late by post is completely placed on the offered. Thus, if the offered is unwilling to accept the risk involved, he can acquire the actual receipt before binding legally.1 Over the last couple of decades, beginning from the 1990s, there is a sharp decline of letter writing in accordance to the report of UK postal service. Of course, official letters are still in use and the postal department delivers them throughout the world. However, in the context of casual letter writing, there is a diminishing trend and the fundamental cause of this trend is globalization and the impact of internet communication along with other telecommunication agents. Acceptance and offer analysis is an age-old approach of contract law, which is used in order to determine whether there is an agreement between two individuals or parties. A number of things can be offered, like a fax, newspaper, letter, email and also conduct as long as it conveys the idea of the offered given in the contract. An invitation to treat is not considered as an offer as it only indicates that a person is willing to discuss a contract. If the person the offer has been made to rejects it, the offer is destroyed, as it cannot be received in the future. Like in the case of Hyde v. Wrench, in reply to an offer for selling an estate at a definite price, the plaintiff responded with a lower price. Thus, the offer was then refused and when the plaintiff wanted to buy the estate at the former price, they could not as no contract was signed with the initial offer and hence it did not exist.2 The late 1990s and 2000s can be referred to as a new era of sunshine gradually but progressively scattering its rays all over the world, incorporating the nations, bringing people, culture and economies close to each other. Internet communication along with other telecommunication agents, like cost effective mobile telephone, signifies increasing global connectivity, incorporation and interdependence in the economic, cultural, technological, social, ecological, and political spheres. Global communication acts as an umbrella expression and is possibly best explained as a unitary progression comprehensive of several sub-processes, such as improved financial interdependence, augmented cultural authority, rapid progress of information technology, and superior governance and geopolitical defies that are ever more binding people and the biosphere extra firmly into one global system. Cultural Globalization is growth of cross-cultural relations, beginning of fresh categories of perceptions and distinctiveness such as Globalism, which exemplify cultural conduction, the desire to get through and have the benefit of foreign commodities and ideas, take on original technology and practices, and play a part in a world culture. Ecological Globalization refers to the beginning of global ecological defies that can not be worked out devoid of international collaboration, for instance climate alterations, cross boundary water and air contaminations, excessive fishing of the ocean, and the multiplicity of invasive species. Social Globalization is the term for accomplishment of free flow by people of all countries. These populations are finding communication means in form of telecommunication networking and internet services. Thus, it could narrate the aspect of the basic issue globalization and hybridization is but a two-way approach. There the basic maxims of capitalistic economy are taken into consideration at every step of formulating the strategies of marketing. It is obvious that the basic force of any business is to deal with the principals of profit and the methods of maximization of profit margin. Thus, writing letters and posting it through postal services are proving to be time consuming thus slowing down business. Global communication system has also spread its wings in Technical as well as legal arenas. Development of a worldwide telecommunications infrastructure and larger across the border data flow, by means of such technologies as the communication satellites, Internet, wireless telephones, and submarine fiber optic cable, etc. Rise in the numerals of standards applied globally, such as copyright law, patents and global trade agreements. In present day society, the destruction of traditional cultures in order to start them into the global monoculture is more subtle than it was in the past. Most corporate and government leaders do not intend to destruct traditional cultures; for the most part, they are often unaware that they are doing so. This lack of realization seems to be nurtured by the cult of specialization, which is ever-present in western society. This allows the tendency to destroy the cultural diversity of the world in an effort to spread and expand the global economy. Finally, it would not be irrelevant to conclude that with the advent of information technology and internet it is almost impossible today to stay away from the concept of global monoculture. Be it Indonesia or western Africa, sooner or later the every aspect of human life and thought process would be included within the threshold of the ‘brave new global village’ obviously nurtured and edited in accordance to the western tradition and taste where time consuming letter writing through postal service is a loss. The computer and technology revolution of the past twenty years have given executives even more reason to disrupt and destroy cultural diversity, attempting to “do what is best for each society and the world,” without, in fact, considering how these revisions affect each society, and one of the worst sufferer in this context is letter writing. However, values well fed and induced by global market economy introduces us the benefits of an open world where all existing geological maps must be included into one brand name of culture and as the advertisements generally suggest- this is the ‘in-thing’ today. As a result, traditional letter writing parameters are an element of the past never to return in its conventional form. In revocation of an offer, the offered can revoke the offer even before it has been accepted, but this revocation must be conveyed to the person offered to. If a certain offer has been made to the whole world, like in Carlill’s case, the revocation must be in the same form as the offer. Acceptance is the final expression of agreement to the terms of the offer. There are several rules of acceptance. An acceptance must be conveyed; as before making an acceptance the offer can be withdrawn. Only the person the offer has been offered to can accept the offer. The latter, is not responsible if some other person accepts the offer without his knowledge. If any method of acceptance, like email or post, is specified in the offer, then only those methods can be used which are as effective as the one given. Lastly, like in the Felthouse v. Bindley case, silence cannot be taken as acceptance. The offer is rejected or terminated in case the offered dies. In such case if the offer is still accepted, it remains valid. However, if the person the offer has been made to dies, then the offer becomes invalid.3 In recent times, among the easiest of legal questions asked in the field of contract law is linked with the advances in computer technology and is whether the mailbox rule should be applicable to the most modern and very quickly becoming the most accepted mode of communication – electronic mail or simply email. Today we live in the silicon age and this age has given us the world of the cyberspace. It has been debated over and over again whether postal rule should be applied to email. Both post and email are almost same. An email does not directly reach its destination. Thus, the sender does not have any control over the message. It reaches its destination taking incremental steps just like post. Thus, none of the parties can be blamed for a delay. Therefore, we can see that postal rule can be applied to email.4 In conclusion, it should be stated that the judges in Brinkibon also noticed that this mode of communication was becoming more varied with time but they deliberately stopped themselves from obtaining any result about this topic. Lord Wilberforce then created certain guidelines, which would determine whether postal rule applies to email. One of the bases of mailbox rule is that there will be delay in the deliver, but this is an exception when we come to email. Although email is reliable and instantaneous, sometimes things may go wrong. However, it can be expected that with time, as technology improves further, it will become reliable and then the court members have to accept this fact. Although it is not universally accepted, the postal rule, some say, should be applied to email.5 Bibliography: Cook, Debra L. Vijay K. Gurbani, Michael Daniluk; 2008; Phishwish: a simple and stateless phishing filter; Security and Communication Networks; 22, 7; 76-83 Hedley, Steve; 2006; The Law of Electronic Commerce and the Internet in the UK and Ireland; Routledge Cavendish Lasensky, Scott, Gabriella Blum, Daniel B. Shapiro, Howard Raiffa, Samuel Lewis, Robert Malley; 2005; International Dimensions: What Is the Role of Third Parties?; Negotiation Journal; 21, 2; 245-257 Meij, Hans van der & Kerst Boersma; 2002; Email use in elementary school: an analysis of exchange patterns and content; British Journal of Educational Technology; 33, 2,189-200 Undy, Roger & Roderick Martin; 1996; Managing the Unions: The Impact of Legislation on Trade Unions' Behaviour; Oxford University Press Read More