‘On 7 May 2020, the Cabinet Office issued guidance urging “responsible and fair performance and enforcement of contracts” during the Coronavirus pandemic. This guidance, which does not have legislative force, has caused some head-scratching amongst lawyers. Judges have traditionally been reluctant to muddy the waters of contract law (often murky enough as it is) with vague and subjective notions such as responsibility and fairness. The usual approach is – in simple terms – to hold the parties to the words they have used, imply only such other words as are necessary to make the contract work, and let the rest take care of itself. So what does the Cabinet Office guidance mean, and how, if at all, can the concept of “Responsible Contractual Behaviour” (“RCB”) be shoehorned into the existing law?’

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Tanfield Chambers, 24th June 2020

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk