Читать книгу Canadian Business Contracts Handbook - Nishan Swais - Страница 53

In Chapter 1, we identified the circumstances in which a court might find that a contract did not exist (was void ab initio); for example, where an agreement is contrary to law or there is a lack of mutuality.

Let’s now consider the circumstances in which a court might find that a contractual relationship never existed. These include mistake, misrepresentation, frustration, and unconscionability. In each of these circumstances, a court may invalidate a contract (or one or more terms of it) and refuse to enforce it (i.e., set it aside or rescind it). In other words, the court will find that the contract (or a term of it) is void (as opposed to void ab initio). Among other things, that means that compensation could not be obtained against the party in breach of the contract (or the particular term in question).

It is worth briefly examining each of these circumstances more closely.