Contract Law and the Unexpected by Paul S Davies | 2026*

Contract Law and the Unexpected by Paul S Davies | 2026*

This book examines how contracts can be used to manage uncertainty in commercial relationships.

Businesses routinely encounter unpredictable events such as market volatility, regulatory changes, pandemics, technological developments, and geopolitical tensions. These risks are often difficult to anticipate or fully address at the time a contract is formed.

While traditional legal doctrines such as variation and frustration may offer some relief, their application under English law is generally limited. As a result, parties often rely on carefully drafted contractual provisions that allow obligations to be modified, suspended, terminated, or renegotiated when unforeseen circumstances arise. These include material adverse change clauses, hardship clauses, performance clauses, termination and suspension provisions, remedies clauses, and variation clauses.

The book explores the interpretation, effectiveness, and enforceability of these clauses, as well as the implications when they fail to operate as intended. It also considers the consequences of granting contractual discretion to determine whether a particular risk or event has occurred and examines how these provisions interact with broader principles of contract law.

Offering valuable insights into the legal treatment of unexpected events, this book is an essential resource for academics, students, and legal practitioners, including contract drafters, advisors, and litigators.

Table of Contents of Contract Law and the Unexpected by Paul S Davies

Preface,

Paul S Davies (University College London, UK) and Magda Raczynska (University College London, UK)

1. Contract Law and the Unexpected: A Comparative Perspective,

John Cartwright (University of Oxford, UK)

2. Constructing Frustration,

Paul MacMahon (London School of Economics, UK)

3. Managing Unexpected Events in Global Markets: Lessons from LIBOR,

Jo Braithwaite (LSE Law School, UK)

4. Smart Contracts and the Unexpected,

Sarah Green (University of Bristol, UK)

5. Interpreting the Contract in the Light of Unexpected Events,

Catherine Mitchell (University of Birmingham, UK)

6. Purposive Interpretation of Longer-term Charters,

Miriam Goldby (Queen Mary University of London, UK)

7. Hardship,

Ewan McKendrick KC (University of Leiden, the Netherlands)

8. 'Hell or High Water' Clauses,

Jordan English (University of Oxford, UK)

9. The Idea of Variation,

Charles Mitchell (University College London, UK) and Magda Raczynska (University College London, UK)

10. Specific Performance Clauses,

Solène Rowan (King's College London, UK)

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