Gain-based Remedies for Breach of Contract: A Comparative Analysis of English and Polish Law

The book explores the concept of unjust enrichment in English contract law, focusing on two rulings that established gain-based remedies. It analyzes these principles through compensatory and restitutionary approaches and compares them with the civil law jurisdiction in Poland. It distinguishes between reparative and substitutive compensation and argues that gain-based remedies could be applied under Polish law through the rules of unjust enrichment. However, a broader understanding of the subtraction prerequisite is needed.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 167 pages
Publication date: 16 February 2024
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

This book examines an emerging issue in English contract law: what should be done when a party has been unjustly enriched as a result of a breach of contract but there is no measurable loss suffered by the party? Two rulings, Wrotham Park Estate v Parkside Homes and Attorney-General v Blake, have established gain-based remedies in English contract law. However, the principles underlying these remedies are not entirely clear and are subject to debate. This book analyses these principles through the lens of compensatory and restitutionary approaches and applies a comparative analysis of these approaches through the lens of the civil law jurisdiction in Poland. Since the term "compensation" is not a universal concept, the book distinguishes between two rationales in the compensatory analysis: reparative compensation, which is a form of monetary recompense for loss or damage actually suffered, and substitutive compensation, which represents a monetary equivalent to a right that a person has been deprived of or denied. Both rationales require the application of a broad notion of loss in order to make gain-based remedies workable in both English and Polish law. In contrast, restitution states that a person cannot be permitted to profit from their own wrongdoing. Based on this principle, the book argues that gain-based remedies could be applied under Polish law through the rules of unjust enrichment. However, in order to do so, a broader understanding of the subtraction prerequisite (the enrichment being at the aggrieved party's expense) would have to be adopted. The book concludes that unjust enrichment is a more natural way of implementing gain-based remedies in civil law.

Weight: 278g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031254543
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023