Terms and Conditions: The “Red Hand Rule” coined by Lord Denning in J Spurling Ltd v Bradshaw in 1956 is taking on increasing significance in relation to business conducted over the Internet.

The famous principle states that some clauses in Standard Terms and Conditions of Business “would need to be printed in red ink on the face of a document with a red hand pointing to it” before such terms could be considered incorporated into a contract.

The issue of incorporation of Standard Terms and Conditions is of particular importance to Internet companies, as such Terms and Conditions form the basis of the legal relationship between the company and the consumer. Recent comment suggests that it is not good enough to merely state that the use of the web-site is subject to terms and conditions. Customers should be forced, as part of the registration process, to scroll through the Terms and Conditions and be given the opportunity to decline to accept them. If customers wish to proceed they should be prompted to click an “I accept” button. This way there can be no doubt that the Terms and Conditions have been incorporated into any contract subsequently entered into.

Jonathan Heaney - solicitor, Fairmays

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