Know the Law

The illegality of a Contract by statutory prohibition

It is a requirement for the framers of contracts to be careful enough to make terms which are not forbidden by any law. If such a clause has been identified in a contract or the parties have entered upon a contract to fulfil an illegal task the contract will be void ab initio.

The illegality has threefold modes which render a contract illegal as follows,

Through a statute
By Common Law
By a Public Policy and Morality.

The Statutory prohibition may be expressed or implied. Therefore, it is vital to look at whether the impugned statute which encroaches illegality upon a particular contract contains an express term or an implied term. In Express Statutory Prohibition, the statutes expressly restrict certain acts. For instance, The Rubber Control Ordinance may include an express provision prohibiting selling or purchasing rubber over the prescribed quantity. Consequently, if anyone enters into a contract to sell or purchase rubber exceeding the prescribed quantity, such a contract will be illegal and therefore void.

In implied statutory prohibition, the provisions of a statute impliedly (not directly) prohibit some activity. Therefore if a contract contains any term which is impliedly prohibited by a statute, that contract will be void. The intention of the legislature should be considered in determining whether a particular contract has gone against any implied statutory prohibition as held in Fernando v Ramanathan and Samarawickrama v Subramanium.

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Hart’s Positivism

H.L.A. Hart is a prominent jurist who presented the theory of soft positivism moving away from the rigid positivist theories laid down by the jurists Jeremy Bentham and John Austin. In his seminal literal work namely, the “Concept of Laws” he laid down Austin’s theory of positivism and then pointed out the lacunas or the glaring errors which are unable to apply in the current legal context and subsequently laid down his own theory.
Hart identified that the “Commands of Sovereign backed by sanction” which was presented by Jeremy Bentham and John Austin does not account for different kinds of rules called law, therefore to remedy the situation, he presented the idea of ‘Soft Positivism’ which is much more intellectually enriched and socially relevant in the modern legal system.

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Maintenance under Sri Lankan Law

Maintenance has a special significance when a person is obliged to maintain his or her family. It is vital to note that the maintenance or support obligation does not only constitute providing money but extends to the provision of food, shelter, clothes and other accessories as well. In Sri Lanka, the maintenance has been statutorily recognized similar to most countries. The Maintenance Act of 1999 replaced the previous Maintenance Ordinance of 1972. Yet, it does not fully replace the previous ordinance. The Maintainence Act of 1999 covers a vast area relating to the Maintenace Law in Sri Lanka.
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Vicarious Liability; Master-Servant relationship

It is generally accepted that a person should not be made liable for any actions or omissions for which he is not responsible. Yet, exceptions have been recognized in many legal systems where a person is held liable for any action or omission done by their subjects. In Roman Law, a Paterfamilias had been made liable for any wrongs done by his family members or servants. Vicarious liability is, therefore making a person liable on account of a fault done by another person. This can also be recognized as a way of imposing non – fault-based liability.

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Judiciary in the driving seat to protect and promote the “Rights of Nature”?

The “Rights of Nature” concept fosters the very idea that the nature around us possesses similar rights as humans and therefore, nature has legal standing before the court of law. It is undeniable that the Judiciary is the main driver of the promotion of ‘Rights of Nature’ in many countries even though they haven’t given constitutional or statutory recognition to the concept of ‘rights of nature’ in their respective countries.

continue reading on - https://knowthelaw395091660.wordpress.com/2023/04/29/judiciary-in-the-driving-seat-to-protect-and-promote-the-rights-of-nature/

Equality in Workplace – Insight into UK Equality Act 2010

Inequality or discrimination in workplaces can be heard and seen often in today’s society. In such a context it is important to ensure the protection of equality in order to maintain a proper workplace for its employees. The UK Equality Act of 2010 legally protect people from any kind of discrimination in society or any workplace based on,

Age
Disability
Gender reassignment
Marriage and Civil Partnerships
Pregnancy and Maternity
Race
Religion or Disbelief
S*x
S*xual Orientation ( Section 4 of the Act)
Therefore any person including the employers and employees in a workplace is not allowed to discriminate against anyone on the basis of protected aspects in the Act. Moreover, employers should take necessary precautions to eradicate any such discriminatory practices from their workplace.

Do you think Sri Lanka needs such an act too?
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Equality in Workplace – Insight into UK Equality Act 2010 Inequality or discrimination in workplaces can be heard and seen often in today’s society. In such a context it is important to ensure the protection of equality in order to maintain a proper…