Duress Flashcards
What is duress in contract law?
Duress involves coercion considered illegitimate by law, leading to contract vitiation.
Key judgments related to duress doctrine?
Lord Wilberforce in Barton v Armstrong (1976) and Lord Burrows in Pakistan International Airlines Corporation v Times Travel (UK) Ltd (2021) focused on the illegitimacy and causative nature of pressure.
Types of duress categorized?
Duress to the person, duress to property, economic duress, and lawful act duress.
Legal effect of duress on contracts?
Contracts under duress are voidable at the victim’s discretion, allowing for rescission.
Historical development of economic duress?
(in terms of its scope?)
Economic duress recognizes threats to economic interests as a basis for vitiation, evolving from duress to the person and property.
Normative rationale for duress doctrine?
Focuses on wrongful impairment of autonomy and voluntariness in contractual assent, emphasizing violation of voluntariness over substantive unfairness.
Requirements to establish duress?
Proof of illegitimate pressure and causation, showing the pressure as a significant factor in contract formation.
Significance of lawful act duress?
Acknowledges that threats of lawful actions can constitute duress under exceptional circumstances, as confirmed in Times Travel (2021).
How does economic duress affect renegotiations?
Examines the legitimacy of renegotiations, focusing on illegitimate pressure and the victim’s practical alternatives.
Challenges faced by the doctrine of duress?
Distinguishing between ordinary commercial pressures and socially unacceptable pressures poses a challenge in applying duress.
