ABSTRACT
This chapter, like the previous one, is concerned with contracts which the courts refuse to enforce. In this case, however, the reason for this refusal is not that the agreements concerned amount to, or are linked to, the commission of a crime or a tort, or are forbidden by statute. Rather, they have been held to be more generally ‘contrary to public policy’, and for that reason void and unenforceable. Most of the areas dealt with here are the creation of the judges. The final section, on the other hand, deals with gaming and wagering contracts, which are governed by statute. The categories of common law public policy have been stated to be closed,1 so that the courts will not apply this approach to a type of contract to which it has not been applied previously. Such an approach has the advantage of promoting certainty, and keeping public policy claims within limits. Whether the courts would stick to this line if faced with a novel situation which appeared to call out for intervention is another matter.2 One area where it is possible that they might feel inclined to intervene is if a contract appeared to infringe one of the rights recognised by the Human Rights Act 1998. This possibility is considered further below, at 15.5.
