Lecture Notes: Understanding Contractual Consent and Duress

Introduction

• Discussing the importance of genuine consent in contracts.
• Emphasis on consent being free and voluntary; no coercion involved.

Key Terms

• Genuine Consent: Parties must provide consent freely without deception or intimidation.

Factors Affecting Consent

• Previous discussions on stigma and misrepresentation.
• Current focus: Duress.

Understanding Duress in Contracts

• Duress: Compelling a person to enter into a contract through force or threats.
• Two types of duress:
  • Actual Violence: Physical compulsion, e.g., physical harm to sign a contract.
  • Threat of Violence: Threatening harm to a person or property.

Examples of Duress

• Kidnapping and signing documents under threat.
• Threats to property, e.g., threatening to destroy property if contract terms are not accepted.

Legal Implications of Duress

• Contracts made under duress are voidable, not void.
• Void Contract: Invalid from the start.
• Voidable Contract: Valid until annulled by the affected party.

Case Examples

• Barton and Armstrong Case:
  • Armstrong threatened Barton to sign a contract under duress.
  • Court ruled the contract voidable due to the threat.
• North Ocean Shipping Co. v. Hyundai Construction Co.:
  • Economic duress case; threat to breach contract unless additional payment made.
  • Contract was voidable but plaintiffs couldn't recover excess payments due to prior affirmation.

Evolution of Duress Doctrine

• Initially limited to personal violence or threat thereof.
• Expanded to include economic threats and breach threats.

Recommended Reading

• Pao On v. Lau Yiu Long:
  • Illustrates changes in the understanding of duress.
  • Encouraged to read full judgments for comprehensive understanding.

Conclusion

• Emphasizes the importance of understanding different types of duress and their implications on contract validity.
• Encourages further reading of landmark cases to grasp the nuances of duress in legal contexts.