Postal rule in acceptance via email

The fact that the digital world has conquered almost all aspects of life drives contracting parties to adopt a more expedient means of communication in their formation of a contract, which was traditionally executed in the paper form. Consequently, communication in most of contractual transactions nowadays is generally no longer made on paper but shifts to paperless documents through technological devices such as email and other electronic forms. This article focuses on the issue of the application of a traditional postal rule in acceptance through post in a contemporary acceptance via email. In dealing with this issue, the approaches adopted by jurisdictions such as Singapore, Australia, as well as Malaysia are examined. The findings have established that at present, there is no definite answer due to the inadequacies of existing legal frameworks and provisions, amplified by the lack of judicial interpretations to provide clear resolution. Although in certain countries, the approaches are comparatively well defined, uncertainties remain and the clear way towards resolution appears to be far from defined.