An unenforceable
contract
A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
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. 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 a type of sex work that involves engaging in 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, no ...
under
English law
English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...
. Prostitution is not actually a
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
under English law, but both soliciting a prostitute and living off the earnings of a prostitute are criminal offences. 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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, 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'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.
Restrictive covenants
In many jurisdictions, racially or ethnically restrictive
covenants excluding disfavored groups such as
Blacks or
Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
were common until the 1940s. These were ruled
unconstitutional
In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...
in 1948 in the ''
Shelley v. Kraemer'' case and therefore legally unenforceable.
[Jeffrey D. Gonda (2015). ''Unjust Deeds: The Restrictive Covenant Cases and the Making of the Civil Rights Movement''. University of North Carolina Press.]
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 an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
*
Unenforced law
References
Common law legal terminology
Contract law
Contract law legal terminology
English legal terminology
{{law-term-stub