Contracts that cannot be specifically performed

A film studio signs a famous singer for a concert series. She walks away to perform for a rival. Can a court force her to sing for the studio? Even if it could order her, how would it know whether she was singing her best? Some promises are too personal or too long-running for a judge to supervise, and the law gives up on enforcing them. But it has a clever second route, and that is the point of this topic.

In two minutes

Section 14 of the Specific Relief Act 1963 lists four contracts that cannot be specifically enforced: where substituted performance has been obtained under s.20, where a continuous duty needs court supervision, where the contract depends on personal qualifications, and where it is in its nature determinable; s.11(2) and s.17 add trustee excess and vendor’s want of title.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Law of Contract and Specific Relief on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.