Frustration
A doctrine of contract law whereby a contract is automatically discharged when a supervening event, without the fault of either party, renders the contractual obligation impossible, illegal, or radically different from what was contemplated. Established in Taylor v Caldwell (1863) and refined in Davis Contractors v Fareham UDC [1956]. The Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943 governs the adjustment of payments made before frustration.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Frustration is treated as legally distinct from force majeure, even though the two are often triggered by the same kind of disruption. Cabinet Office guidance issued during the Covid-19 pandemic listed them as separate categories of claim in the same sentence: businesses were expected to be making, and responding to, 'force majeure, frustration, change in law, relief event, delay event, compensation event and excusing cause claims' responsibly.
The guidance's starting point for encouraging that responsible behaviour was that parties to some contracts may find it difficult or impossible to perform those contracts in accordance with their agreed terms because of the pandemic — precisely the kind of supervening difficulty frustration doctrine addresses — and it urged cooperation over confrontation where continued performance was not possible, in order to preserve contracts, supply chains and jobs through the emergency.
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Official sources
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