In English law, impossibility of performance occurs when contractual obligations become impossible to fulfil due to unforeseen circumstances, potentially excusing parties from further performance.
Impossibility can trigger frustration of contract if the impossibility arises without fault from either party and fundamentally changes the nature of contractual obligations.
Understanding impossibility helps manage risks effectively, ensures fair contractual obligations, and clarifies potential relief available when performance becomes genuinely impossible.
Merchants sold a cargo of corn through agents, but unknown to both parties, the cargo had already been sold at Tunis due to heating damage before the sale contract was made. The House of Lords held the contract void as there was no existing subject matter at the time of sale.
A concert by Guns 'n' Roses in Madrid was cancelled when the stadium was found unsafe due to high alumina cement construction. The court held the contract was frustrated and the promoter could recover its advance payment of US$412,500, with no deduction for the defendant's expenses, applying the Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943.
Charterers hired a trawler requiring a licence to operate. When only three licences were granted for their five trawlers, they chose not to license this vessel. The Privy Council held the contract was not frustrated as the appellants' own election caused the inability to perform.
A warehouse lessee claimed frustration when street closure prevented access for 20 months of a 10-year lease. The House of Lords held that while the doctrine of frustration can in principle apply to leases, it would only do so in rare circumstances. On the facts, the interruption was insufficient to frustrate this lease.
A tenant refused to pay rent after being expelled from leased land by Prince Rupert's hostile army during the Civil War. The court held that contractual obligations to pay rent persist despite interference by enemies, as parties must provide for such contingencies in their contracts.
Taylor agreed to hire the Surrey Gardens and Music Hall from Caldwell for four concert days. Before the first concert, the Hall was destroyed by accidental fire. The Court held that both parties were excused from performance as the contract impliedly depended on the continued existence of the Hall. This case established the doctrine of frustration in English contract law.
September 22, 2026
National Case Law Archive
September 22, 2026
National Case Law Archive
September 22, 2026
National Case Law Archive