The essentials of a contract according to the legal system of Sri Lanka are as under:

• agreement between the parties;
• actual or presumed intention of the parties to create a legal obligation;
• due observance of prescribed forms or modes of agreement;
• legality and possibility of the object of the agreement;
• capacity of the parties to contract; [Weeramantry, page 81].

Note: The Common law doctrine of “consideration” does not apply to civil law systems, such as the Roman Dutch law