CHAPTER I
FORMATION OF CONTRACT
Section 354. An offer to make a contract in which a period for acceptance is specified cannot be withdrawn within such period.
Section 355. A person who, without specifying a period for acceptance, makes an offer to another at a distance cannot withdraw his offer within a time which notice of acceptance might reasonably be expected.
Section 356. An offer made to a person who is present without specifying a period for acceptance may be accepted only there and then.This applies also to an offer made by one person to another on the telephone.
Section 357. An offer ceases to be binding if it is refused to the offeror, or if it is not accepted in due time according to the three foregoing sections.
Section 358. If the notice of acceptance arrives out of time, but it is apparent that it was sent in such manner that in the ordinary course of things it ought to have arrived in due time, the offeror, unless he has already done so, must without delay give notice to the other party of the delayed arrival.
If the offeror fails to give notice mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, the notice of the acceptance is deemed not to have been out of time.
Section 359. If the acceptance of an offer arrives out of time, it is deemed to be a new offer.
An acceptance with additions, restrictions or other modifications is deemed to be a refusal coupled with a new offer.
Section 360. The provisions of Section 169 paragraph 2 do not apply, if the offeror has declared a contrary intention, or if before accepting the other party had notice of the fact of his death or loss of capacity.
Section 361. A contract between persons at a distance comes into existence at the time when the notice of acceptance reaches the offeror.
In accordance to the declared intention of the offeror or to ordinary usage no notice of acceptance is necessary, the contract comes into existence at the time of the occurrence of fact which is considered as a declaration to accept.
Section 362. A person who by advertisement promises that he will give a reward to whoever shall de a certain act is bound to give such reward to any person who does the act, even if such person did not act with a view to the reward.
Section 363. In the case of the foregoing section the promisor may so long as there is no person who has completed the specific act, withdraw his promise by the same means which used for advertising, unless he declared in the advertisement that he would not withdraw it.
If a promise cannot be withdrawn by the means of the aforesaid, withdraw may be made by other means, but in such case it is valid only against those persons who know of it.
If the promisor has fixed a period within which the specified act must be done, he is presumed to have renounced his right of withdrawal.
Section 364. If there are several persons who have done the act specified in the advertisement, only that one who does it first has a right to receive an equal share of the reward.
If several persons do such act at the same time, each one has a right to receive an equal share of the reward. But if the reward is in its nature indivisible, or if by the terms of the promise only one person is to receive the reward, it is decided by lot.
The provisions of the foregoing two paragraphs do not apply, if in the advertisement a different intention is declared.
Section 365. A promise of reward which has a prize competition is valid only if a period of time is fixed in the advertisement.
The decision whether any competitor fulfils the conditions of the promise within the period, or which one among several competitors deserves the preference, shall be made by the umpire named in the advertisement, or in the absence of any such, by the promisor of the reward. The decision is binding upon the parties concerned.
In case of equality of merit the provisions of Section 364 paragraph 3 apply correspondingly.
The transfer of ownership of the thing produced may be demanded by the promisor only of he has specified in the advertisement that such transfer shall be made.
Section 366. So long as the parties have not agreed upon all points of a contract upon which, according to the declaration of even one party, agreement is essential, the contract is, in case of doubt, not concluded. An understanding concerning particular points is not binding, even if they have been noted down.
If it is agreed that the contemplated contract shall be put into writing, in case of doubt, the contract is not concluded until it is put in writing.
Section 367. If the parties to a contract, which they regarded as concluded, have in fact not agreed as to one point upon which an agreement was to be settled, those parts which were agreed upon are valid in so far as it may be inferred that the contract would have been concluded even without a settlement of this point.
Section 368. Contracts shall be interpreted according to the requirements of good faith, ordinary usage being taken into consideration.
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