An unenforceable
contract
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...
or transaction is one that is valid but one the court will not enforce. Unenforceable is usually used in contradiction to
void (or ''void ab initio'') and
voidable
Voidable, in law, is a transaction or action that is valid but may be annulled by one of the parties to the transaction. Voidable is usually used in distinction to void ''ab initio'' (or void from the outset) and unenforceable.
Definition
The ac ...
. If the parties perform the agreement, it will be valid, but the court will not compel them if they do not.
An "agreement to agree", where a purported contract contains an obligation to enter into a subsequent agreement in the future, the terms of which are not certain at the time of the initial agreement, is generally considered to lack sufficient certainty to constitute a legally enforceable contract and is therefore unenforceable. However, an agreement under which "the parties contemplate entering into a further, more formal, agreement later" may be enforceable.
Prostitution
An example of a transaction which is an unenforceable contract is a contract for
prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
under
English law
English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures.
Principal elements of English law
Although the common law has, historically, b ...
. Prostitution is not actually a
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...
under English law, but both soliciting a prostitute and living off the earnings of a prostitute are criminal offences.
[Archbold, Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice, 2012] Yet so long as the contract is fully performed, it remains valid. However, if either refuses to complete the bargain (either the prostitute after being paid or the payer after receiving the services), the court will not assist the disappointed party.
Sometimes, contracts may be enforceable one way and unenforceable the other way. Again, there is an example from the field of prostitution. In
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, where prostitution is also legal,
a law exists thatonce a contract has been entered intomakes a prostitute's demands for payment legally enforceable (even via collection agencies and courts if necessary), but the
client
Client(s) or The Client may refer to:
* Client (business)
* Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer
* Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuabl ...
's demands for fulfillment of the contract and rendition of sexual services would be unenforceable. German lawmakers made only the claims of prostitutes enforceable because they intended for German prostitution law to protect only prostitutes, without helping or furthering the interests of buyers of sexual services.
Impugning a contract
To impugn a contract means attacking the integrity of the contract. A way it can be done is by deeming the contract unenforceable. A contract can be said unenforceable if it goes against the statutes of fraud or the Statement of Goods Act.
See also
*
Contract
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...
*
Unenforced law
An unenforced law (also symbolic law, dead letter law) is a law which is formally in effect ('' de jure''), but is usually ('' de facto'') not penalized by a jurisdiction. Such laws are usually ignored by law enforcement, and therefore there are ...
References
Common law legal terminology
Contract law
Contract law legal terminology
English legal terminology
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