What must parties to a contract possess for the agreement to be viable?

For a contract to be viable, the parties involved must have the capacity to enter into the contract. This capacity generally means that each party must possess legal competency, which includes being of a certain age (usually the age of majority), being mentally competent at the time of forming the contract, and not being under the influence of substances that impair judgment.

When parties lack capacity, any agreements they make may not be enforceable in a court of law. This is essential because contracts are binding legal agreements, and the law aims to protect individuals who may not fully understand the consequences of their actions. If one party is deemed incapable of understanding the nature and implications of the contract, the validity of the agreement may be challenged.

While other factors, such as mutual understanding of the terms and legal representation, are important in certain contexts, they do not address the fundamental requirement of legal capacity. The absence of capacity fundamentally undermines the enforceability of a contract. Thus, for a contract to be viable, the parties must have the requisite legal capacity to enter into such an agreement.