NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

NANYANG BUSINESS SCHOOL

AB1301 - BUSINESS LAW

AUG 2018

Seminar 7: Discharge of Contract

Discharge of a valid contract involves the process by which the primary obligations of a contract
come to an end. A contract can be discharged in four main ways.

A. Performance
B. Breach
C. Agreement
D. Frustration

A. Performance
1. What is precise performance?
2. The exceptions to precise performance are: De minimis rule; Divisible Contracts; Substantial
Performance; Prevented Performance; Acceptance of Partial Performance
3. What are the conditions necessary for each of the exceptions?

B. Breach
1. What is actual breach and anticipatory breach?
2. What is a repudiatory breach? The effect of a repudiatory breach is that the innocent party has a
right of election to either affirm the contract or to terminate the contract.
3. When an anticipatory breach occurs, what are the possible responses and their effects?

C. Agreement
The following are the types of agreements to end an existing contract: Mutual Release; Unilateral
Release; Variation and Waiver.

D. Frustration
1. Frustration is the occurrence of a supervening event (and neither party is at fault) that makes the
contract impossible to perform or illegal or radically different from what was originally
envisaged.
2. Examples would include the destruction of the subject matter of the contract eg car; death or
personal incapacity of a person who was contracted to provide personal services.
3. There are three factors limiting frustration from arising: Foreseeable events, Force Majeure
clauses, self-induced frustration
4. What are the rights of the parties in frustrated contracts? Frustrated Contracts Act (Cap 115) –
essentially sections 2(1), (2) and (3).