Frustration In Contract Law Essay

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There are times when unforeseen supervening events occur without fault of either contracting party and render performance of the contract impossible or radically different from what the parties contemplated when they enter into it. Subsequently leading the Courts to call in frustration and discharge the contract irrespective of the parties’ wishes. Due to its radical impact towards the contracting parties, the threshold of ‘impossibility’ is set very high by the Courts thus frustration of contracts is of limited practicability. The definition of ‘impossibility’ has widely been criticized unclear and uncertain as the Courts tend to interpret it extremely narrowly. In respect of justice and certainty of the rule of law, it is essential for the courts to act in this way.

Impossibility in contract law is by no means the easy definition as one would expect: ‘something which cannot be done according to the laws of nature’. It is narrowly defined by the Courts since they have to limit the application of frustration on contracts. Contracts are something valuable in the eyes of the law thus the judges are reluctant to discharge them in which discourage people from making contracts.

Due to the variability of unpredictable events that happen in life, impossibilities arise hence the doctrine of …show more content…

Impossibility is narrowly defined to which they are physically, practically or commercially impossible. A crucial factor considered by them is the degree of impact the supervening event has on the contract. Despite often being criticized of its limited application and uncertainty, this allows flexibility in law and exercisable justice. Therefore preserve the trust and reliance people have on contracts when trading and ensure stable business operations in our

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