Consideration
Something of value (money, a promise, an act, or forbearance) given by each party to a contract. A contract is not enforceable without consideration (unless made by deed).
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Consideration remains a live issue even in modern commercial disputes that reach the Supreme Court. In Rock Advertising Limited (Respondent) v MWB Business Exchange Centres Limited (Appellant) [2018] UKSC 24, one of the two questions before the Court was whether the variation of an agreement to pay money, by substituting an obligation to pay either less money or the same money later, is supported by the necessary consideration.
In the event, the Supreme Court decided the case on a different ground — whether a clause requiring variations to be agreed in writing was legally effective — and so did not have to resolve the consideration question. Lord Sumption noted that this made it 'unnecessary to deal with the issue of consideration' in that case, adding that 'that area of law is probably ripe for re-examination' — a sign that even the UK's most senior judges regard parts of the consideration doctrine as unsettled.
Related terms
Official sources
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