Defences in Contract

This book is the third in a series of essay collections on defences in private law. It addresses defences to liability arising in contract. The essays range from those adopting a predominantly black-letter approach to others that examine the law from a more theoretical or historical perspective. Some essays focus on individual defences, while others are concerned with the links between defences, or with how defences relate to the structure of contract law generally. One goal of the book is to determine what light can be shed on contract law doctrines by analysing them through the lens of defences. The contributors – judges and academics – are all leading jurists. The essays are addressed to all of the major common law jurisdictions.

1. Thinking in Terms of Contract Defences
2. What Is a Contractual Defence (and Does It Matter)?
3. Good Faith Bargaining in the Shadow of a Form
4. Good Faith, Good Conscience, and the Taking of Unfair Advantage
5. Undue Influence and Unconscionability
6. Should Consideration Be Required for the Consensual Discharge of an Agreement By Part Payment?
7. Not Waiving but Drowning
8. Frustration: Automatic Discharge of Both Parties?
9. Resisting Termination: Some Comparative Observations
10. The Contract Remoteness Rule: Exclusion, Not Assumption of Responsibility
11. Contributory Negligence and Strict Contractual Obligations Revisited
12. The Impact of Exemption Clauses and Disclaimers: Construction, Contractual Estoppel and Public Policy
13. Illegality: Where Are We Now?