ABSTRACT
Atiyah, An Introduction to the Law of Contract , 1995, 5th edn, pp 342-344, Oxford: Clarendon
The policy considerations involved here appear to include at least the following factors, though not all will be involved in every case. First, there is the desirability of deterring parties from criminal or anti-social conduct, and the associated (though diff erent) object of punishing them if they commit such conduct. Normally it is the criminal law that performs these functions, but there may be forms
of anti-social conduct which are not criminal, and yet which it may be desirable to deter (eg prostitution), and there may also be advantages in using contract law as an additional deterrent over and above that provided by the criminal law . . .
