It is a fundamental principle of English Law that the courts will not Essay

It is a fundamental principle of English Law that the courts will not enforce an illegal contract. Explain the law in this area - Essay Example Acceptance, on the other hand, is the agreement to the terms of an offer that transforms the offer into a legally binding contract. Acceptance involves an action on the part of the offeree. It is vital to emphasise that minors and mentally disordered people lack the capacity to enter into a legally binding agreement. Although a contract exists in many different forms, there are also some illegal contracts. These illegal contracts are those to which the principle applies. This may occur where the law forbids the contract, or where there is a violation of public policy at common law where the contract is for an illegal purpose (The Law Commission 2011). With the English law in place, the courts are not supposed to enforce any contract that is contrary to the policy of the law. The reasons for this are that the performance of a contract, as stated earlier, does not involve the breaking of a legal provision and it is not essentially a good reason for regarding the contract as invalid. Ad ditionally, there are cases where a contract does not involve the breach of any specific legal provision. The aim of the legal restrictions on contracts is varied. It is at times aimed at protecting the weaker parties against exploitation from the stronger parties. This leads to a commonality in force that is laid out to both parties (Youngs 1998, p. 378). Illegal contracts are defined as contracts or agreements that are prohibited or forbidden by a statute or illegal at common law based on the public policy (Haigh 2004, p. 158). Pritchard and Hinds (2008, p. 1) define an illegal contract as one which is based on or entails criminal wrongdoing. For instance, in the United Kingdom (UK), gaming contracts (contracts created in respect to gambling) cannot be enforced. Another important class of illegal contracts are those contracts or agreements which can be defined as unconscionable or unfair in relation to the legislation of the nation, i.e. the laws that govern the contract. For inst ance, in UK employment contracts, parties may not eliminate liability for severe injury (Haigh 2004, p. 158). In addition, the majority of employment contracts implying illegality entail schemes to defraud Inland Revenue or workers who lack the rights to work in the United Kingdom (Pritchard & Hinds 2008, p. 1). Performance of Contracts The common rule is that a party must execute what they undertook to attain the contract. However, the contracts can vary based on the mutual agreement. Alternatively, where an entity approves an appeal of the other entity, that second entity is said to have waived their right to demand performance in a way that was originally agreed. The entities are then put within the terms of the waiver, and there is the absence of consideration to support it (Haigh 2004, p. 158). Illegal Contracts It is important to state that illegality is the most puzzling area in the law of contract, and this is attributed to the fact that it lacks structure. Some authors have indicated that the law in this section is full of contradictions and altogether unsatisfactory. As aforementioned, there are contracts rendered illegal by the common law or a statute. A contract can be expressly prohibited by a statutory provision. Certain contracts or agreements are rendered illegal at common law based on the fact they would be harmful or dangerous to the society and thus contrary to public policy. The following are some of the contracts that are rendered ille