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Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Contracts legislation - Contractual privity

16: Court may authorise variation or discharge

You could also call this:

“Court can allow changes or cancellations to promises or duties”

You can ask a court to change or cancel a promise or duty if section 14(1)(a) stops you from doing so, or if you’re not sure if it stops you. This applies even if you’re not the person who made the promise or has the duty.

If you want to change or cancel a promise or duty, you or the person who made the promise can ask the court for permission. The court will only give permission if it’s fair and practical to do so.

When the court gives permission, it can add conditions to its decision. These conditions are rules you must follow.

Sometimes, the person who was supposed to benefit from the promise might have been hurt because they trusted the promise. If this happens and the court allows the promise to be changed or cancelled, the court will make the person who made the promise pay some money to the person who was hurt. The court will decide how much money is fair.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844068.

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15: Variation or discharge by agreement or in accordance with express provision, or

"Changing or ending promises: when everyone agrees or when it's allowed"

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17: Enforcement by beneficiary, or

"How you can make someone keep a promise they made about you in a contract"

Part 2 Contracts legislation
Contractual privity

16Court may authorise variation or discharge

  1. This section applies if—

  2. the variation or discharge of a promise or an obligation is prevented by section 14(1)(a); or
    1. it is uncertain whether the variation or discharge of a promise or an obligation is prevented by section 14(1)(a).

      1. A court may, on application by the promisor or promisee and if it is just and practicable to do so, make an order authorising the variation or discharge of the promise or obligation or both.

      2. The order may be made on the terms and conditions that the court thinks fit.

      3. Subsection (5) applies if a court—

      4. makes an order under this section; and
        1. is satisfied that the beneficiary has been injuriously affected by the reliance of the beneficiary or any other person on the promise or obligation.

          1. The court must make it a condition of the order that the promisor pay to the beneficiary, by way of compensation, the sum that the court thinks just.

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