HOW TO CLAIM RIGHTS WHEN TERMS OF CONTRACT IS NOT PERFORMED BY OTHER PROMISOR ?

“Remedies are within your reach in case a contract is breached.”

When you enter into a contract, every party has certain rights and liabilities which arise through the contract. Breach of contract is one such right for the aggrieved and liability to the wrong doer which is available as a remedy. Breach of contract basically means non-compliance to the conditions of the contract which will render the contract to be void.

In order to determine whether there has been a breach of contract, it is required to establish the following:

1. Did the contract ever exist? 
2. What were the duties of the parties under the said contract? 
3. When and how did the claimed breach of contract take place?
4. Whether the breaching party have a legal defence under the enforced contract?
5. What are the damages caused due to the breach of contract?

The above questions needs to be answered before determining whether a breach of trust has infact occurred or they are false allegations, also the damages needs to be determined to understand the nature of breach which has occurred.

Now, you might wonder what the signs that a contract has been breach are. A breach of contract can be anything ranging from not agreeing to complete any condition of the contract or even failure to not providing the conditions promised in the contract. 

In order to better understand what constitutes breach of contract lets divide breach of contract into four categories:

1. Actual Breach: This refers to a situation wherein the party refuses to complete certain obligation of the contract on grounds that are unreasonable and not mentioned in the clauses of the contract.
2. Anticipatory Breach: As the name suggests an anticipatory breach refers to the when the party informs that they will not perform his part of the obligation.
3. Material Breach: Herein the party provides materials which are completely different from the ones specified under the contract.
4. Minor Breach: This can also be called partial breach of contract. Here, the party fails to comply with some minor detail of the contract. The final product may be delivered; however, a minor detail might not be performed. For example, if the product is delivered one day after the due date, here a minor breach has occurred wherein the work has been completed but just one small condition is not satisfied.

Remedies for Breach of Contract:

1. The first step to be taken in case of a breach of contract is to opt for a law suit depending on the amount in issue.
2. If the contract has an arbitration clause then the party are to opt for arbitration in the prescribed format.
3. The remedies which will be given are:
4. Damages: Based on the damages caused to the aggrieved party the decision will be given stating he amount to be reimbursed as damages.
5. Specific Performance: Performance of a contractual duty, as ordered in cases where damages would not be adequate remedy.
6. Restitution: "Restitution" as a contract remedy means that the non-breaching party is put back in the position it was in prior to the breach.
7. Cancellation: This refers to the cancellation of whole contract.

Breach of Contract is an issue commonly faced when we enter into a contract. Hence, it is necessary to know our rights and liabilities when it comes to contracts.

Adv (Dr.)Rajkumar S Adukia

International Legal Counsel, Motivational speaker and Growth Coach

Author of 300 plus books, 

B.Com (Hons.), FCA, FCS, FCMA, LL.B, MBA, M.Com, IP, MBF, DipIFRS (UK), DLL&LW, DIPR, Dip in Criminology, Ph.D.

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