Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Contracts legislation - Contractual remedies - Power of court to grant relief

43: Power of court to grant relief

You could also call this:

“The court can make things fair when someone ends a contract”

When someone cancels a contract, the court can help make things fair if it’s possible to do so. The court can give this help during a case or when someone asks for it.

The court can tell one person to pay money to another person, but they have to follow the rules in section 35. The court can also tell someone to do something or not do something to another person if they think it’s fair.

Sometimes, the court can decide who owns things that were part of the contract or were used to pay for it. They can give these things to someone, or tell someone to give them to someone else. This includes both big things like houses and small things you can move around.

In this section, when it talks about a ‘party’, it means someone who is part of the court case. ‘Relevant property’ means the stuff that was part of the contract or was used to pay for it.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844111.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal help Business > Fair trading Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection
Previous

42: Effect of cancellation, or

"What happens when you cancel a contract"

Next

44: Order for relief may be subject to terms and conditions, or

"Courts can add rules when giving relief, but can't stop people from asking for money for damages"

Part 2 Contracts legislation
Contractual remedies: Power of court to grant relief

43Power of court to grant relief

  1. When a contract is cancelled by any party, the court may, if it is just and practicable to do so, make an order or orders granting relief under this section.

  2. The relief may be granted in the course of any proceeding or on application made for the purpose.

  3. An order under this section may—

  4. direct a party to pay to any other party the sum that the court thinks just (subject to section 35):
    1. direct a party to do or refrain from doing, in relation to any other party, any act or thing that the court thinks just:
      1. vest the whole or any part of any relevant property in a party:
        1. direct a party to transfer or assign the whole or any part of any relevant property to any other party:
          1. direct a party to deliver the whole or any part of the possession of any relevant property to any other party.

            1. In subsection (3),—

              party means a party to the proceeding

                relevant property means real or personal property that was the subject of the contract or was the whole or part of the consideration for the contract.

                Compare