13 Illegality
Even though a contract is well formed it may contain some element which
is considered unlawful in its very nature, such as a contract to break into
premises to steal. The courts will clearly be against the idea of enforcing
such an agreement, but in addition there is an area of activity which is not
in the interests of society to enforce, and is said to be against public policy.
The nature of illegality
Some contracts are illegal in their very nature when they are formed, and
as seen below, this is not always because of obvious criminal activity.
Other contracts begin in the normal way, but become illegal in the way in
which they are performed.
Can you think of any other examples of contracts which are likely to be
illegal because of the nature of the activity within them?Re Mahmoud and Ispahani (1921)
A quantity of linseed oil was sold to a dealer without a licence,
contrary to statute. Because of the lack of licence, this contract could
not be carried out in a legal manner.Hey, you agreed
to share that with
me! I’ll sue you!
O.K.Try!