ABSTRACT
A contract is discharged when there are no obligations outstanding under that contract.
It may be discharged by performance, by agreement, as the result of a breach, or by frustration.
Precision of performance
To discharge obligations under a contract, a party must perform exactly what was promised. In Cutter v Powell (1795), a ship’s engineer undertook to sail a ship from Jamaica to Liverpool, but died before the voyage was complete. It was held that nothing could be recovered in respect of his service; he had not fulfilled his obligation.
