Download This Paper'Brexit' as a Frustrating Event and the Case of Canary Wharf v. European Medicine Agency
30 Pages Posted: 8 May 2020 Last revised: 11 May 2020
Date Written: April 1, 2020
Abstract
Lawyers and commercial contracting have been stressed by political uncertainty over the past four years. Brexit its uncertain outcome and the debate on the appropriate application of the frustration doctrine represent one of the most challenging issues for the current contract law scholarship and practitioners. This paper contributes to the extensive scholarly debate on whether the Brexit constitutes a frustration of purpose event in contracts by exploiting the findings of economic literature on the consequences of supervening events. Moreover, paper adds a novel conceptual framework for an improved legal intervention in case of supervening events where a court must decide whether a certain event classifies as a frustration of purpose and whether to discharge the promisor’s obligations. In addition, this paper offers a critical evaluation of the recent decision in Canary Wharf v European Medicines Agency.
Keywords: Frustration of purpose, supervening events, Brexit, contract law, optimal legal intervention
JEL Classification: C23, C26, C51, K42, O43
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation