contract law casebook3 (英國(guó)合同法)

1、Semple Piggot Rochez ? 173B Cowley Road ? Oxford OX4 1UT www.spr-law.comSECTION III LAW OF CONTRACTELEMENTS OF THE LAW OF CONTRACT CASES AND STATUTESSection IIISEMPLE PIGGOT ROCHEZ 1ELEMENTS OF THE LAW OF CONTRACT1. DURE

2、SSAims and ObjectivesTo examine what is meant by duress, and what effect it might have on the validity of a contract.Statutes and case Law Ratio and Fundamental FeaturesDuress by physical threats or coercionBarton v Arms

3、trong [1975] 2 All ER 465 (PC)Barton, the managing director of a public company, executed a deed in favour of Armstrong by which he would be paid $140,000 and have his shares purchased for $180,000. It was proved that Ar

4、mstrong had threatened to have Barton killed if he did not execute the deed. The Privy Council held that although this may not have been the only reason for the execution of the deed, it was at least one of the reasons,

5、and the deed was void for duress.Williams v Bayley (1866) LR 1 HL 200 (HL)See under Section 3 Topic 2.Economic duressThe Siboen and The Sibotre: Occidental Worldwide Investment Corporation v Skibs A/S Avanti [1976] 1 Llo

6、yd’s Rep 293This case first recognised obiter that economic duress could make a contract voidable. The owners of two tankers which had been chartered to a subsidiary of Occidental allowed the charters to be renegotiated

7、and the rates of hire to be reduced. They were pressured into this by threats from Occidental that they would otherwise allow the subsidiary to go bankrupt so the tanker owners would get nothing. The court recognised the

8、 possibility of economic duress, but did not find it proven in this case. ‘I think that out law is open to further development in relation to contracts concluded under some form of compulsion not amounting to duress to t