Private Law Theory

INTRODUCTION
A doctrine that discharges contractual obligations due to changes in the world that occur after contract formation presents a theoretical puzzle. As a present commitment to do something in the future, a contract necessarily involves the risk that circumstances will change, making performance more difficult or more expensive and the bargain consequently less profitable than anticipated at the time of contract formation. If the contract is discharged because that risk materializes, there is nothing left of contract law as a law of obligation. Consider, however, the following two situations …

Nadler, Jennifer, Impossibility and Frustration (2023), in Research Handbook on The Philosophy of Contract Law (Mindy Chen-Wishart and Prince Saprai eds), Forthcoming.