Issue in the Case: Balfour Vs. Balfour
Issue 1: Was the agreement established between Mr. Balfour and her spouse, Mrs. Balfour, legally binding at all?
Issue 2: Did Mr. Balfour ever intend to make a contract with his wife, Mrs. Balfour?
Issue 3: Whether the domestic agreements made between Mr. and Mrs. Balfour fall under the purview of the contract law?
Issue 4: Does any mere promise between the husband and the wife lead to a legally enforceable contract?
Issue 5: Does every oral agreement amount to a valid contract?
Issue 6: Is the agreement between Mr. and Mrs. Balfour valid in nature?
Issue 7: Does Mr. Balfour promise to pay GBP 30 per month to Mrs. Balfour to establish a valid contract that can be sued?
Balfour Vs. Balfour: Case Analysis
The Balfour v. Balfour case is considered a landmark judgment because it dealt with creating a legally binding contract between a married couple. The judgment was decided in 1919, when the wife, Mrs. Balfour, filed the case in the lower court and got the judgment delivered against her husband, Mr. Balfour. However, Mr. Balfour appealed against the lower court’s judgment in the higher court, and the court of appeals reversed the judgment delivered by the lower court. The crux of the judgment establishes that the intention is really important to enter into any kind of contract, and the promise made between the husband and wife in the ordinary course of life does not come under the legal purview of contract law, nor is it legally enforceable if the intention to form a legally binding contract is absent.
Geeky Takeaways:
- The contract has established that to make a valid contract, there must be an intention to create a legal relationship between the parties to the contract; if such intention is absent, the contract shall be null and void.
- The Balfour vs. Balfour case is a landmark case that establishes that intention is really important to enter into any kind of contract, and the promise made between the husband and wife in the ordinary course of life does not come under the legal purview of contract law.
- The doctrine is made for public policy and not for domestic agreements. It can also be established that a court can never indulge in any sort of small issue like this between the family.
- This case is one of the most significant judgments in the whole of judicial history, which gave birth to the doctrine of intention to create legal relations and is used as a landmark case while referring to present cases.
Table of Content
- Facts of the Case: Balfour Vs. Balfour
- Issue in the Case: Balfour Vs. Balfour
- Contention from the Side of Mr. Balfour: Appellant in this Case
- Contention from the Side of Mrs. Balfour: Respondent in this Case
- Judgement in the Case: Balfour Vs. Balfour
- Conclusion