Contractual breach and remedies

When faced with a breach or a potential breach of contract, one of the central issues will be what remedies are available to the innocent party.

The Practice Notes in this sub-topic consider the key remedies available, ie:

1. •

   damages for breach of contract and the limits to recovery, and

2. •

   the equitable remedies such as specific performance, declaratory and injunctive relief, rectification and rescission

as well as some of the issues relevant to a finding on liability. They also include some practical illustrations of pursuing certain types of contractual claim.

Clearly, before there can be a situation requiring remedies for a breach of contract, there needs to have been a contract in existence at some point. This subtopic proceeds on the basis that a binding agreement has already been entered into between the parties and then breached or that a dispute has arisen in relation to performance. It therefore does not deal with the issues of formation, interpretation or termination of contracts. For guidance on these topics, see:

1. •

   Forming enforceable contracts—overview

2. •

   Contract interpretation—overview

3. •

   Terminating contracts—how and when a contract ends—overview (which