An English Court will not enforce a foreign contract, though valid by the law of the country in which it was made, in cases where the Court deems the contract to be in contravention of some essential principle of justice or morality.
The plaintiff, who was domiciled in a foreign country, sued on a contract made in that country between himself and the defendant, a woman likewise domiciled there, whom he had coerced into signing the contract by threats of a criminal prosecution against her husband for an offence which he had committed, the consideration for the contract being that the plaintiff would not prosecute the husband. Evidence was given to the effect that the contract was not invalid by the law of the country in which it was made.
Held: Even assuming that to be so, the Court would not enforce a contract so procured.
The existence of an illegal agreement introduces a quality of impropriety into a transaction induced thereby so as to render it voidable for duress.
[1904] 1 KB 591, [1904] UKLawRpKQB 40
Commonlii
England and Wales
Contract
Updated: 18 January 2022; Ref: scu.372856
