World Leisure Holidays v Georges
Encyclopedia
World Leisure Holidays Ltd v Georges is an important case in South African contract law
, specifically in the area of termination. It was heard in the Witwatersrand
Local Division by Cloete J, Blieden J and Malan J on February 14, 2002
, with judgment handed down on February 26. An appeal from a decision in a magistrate's court, it is the leading case on the issue of temporary supervening impossibility of performance.
Late in 1996
, a family booked a holiday in Mauritius
, only to find its flight suspended due to a tropical cyclone, and so attempted to cancel its contract with the tour operator and claim damages, on the grounds that the supervening impossibility of performance had brought the contract to an end. The court a quo upheld the claim.
On appeal, however, Cloete J found that temporary impossibility of performance does not of itself bring the contract to an immediate end. Only where the foundation of the contract has been destroyed, or where all or part of the performance is already (or would inevitably become) impossible, is the creditor entitled to regard the contract as having ended.
The test for impossibility has been formulated in a variety of ways, but the court found that it was neither necessary nor desirable to lay down a concrete formula:
The appeal was upheld with costs and the magistrate's order set aside.
South African contract law
South African contract law is "essentially a modernised version of the Roman-Dutch law of contract," which is itself rooted in Roman law. In the broadest definition, a contract is an agreement entered into by two or more parties with the serious intention of creating a legal obligation...
, specifically in the area of termination. It was heard in the Witwatersrand
Witwatersrand
The Witwatersrand is a low, sedimentary range of hills, at an elevation of 1700–1800 metres above sea-level, which runs in an east-west direction through Gauteng in South Africa. The word in Afrikaans means "the ridge of white waters". Geologically it is complex, but the principal formations...
Local Division by Cloete J, Blieden J and Malan J on February 14, 2002
2002 in South Africa
-January:* 29 January – Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian organisation, begins importing a cheap, generic version of patented AIDS drugs into South Africa in a direct defiance to South Africa's patent laws-March:...
, with judgment handed down on February 26. An appeal from a decision in a magistrate's court, it is the leading case on the issue of temporary supervening impossibility of performance.
Late in 1996
1996 in South Africa
-February:* Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in his capacity as Grand President of the British Commonwealth Ex-Services League visits South Africa* 26 February - South Africa and Algeria restore diplomatic ties-March:...
, a family booked a holiday in Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, only to find its flight suspended due to a tropical cyclone, and so attempted to cancel its contract with the tour operator and claim damages, on the grounds that the supervening impossibility of performance had brought the contract to an end. The court a quo upheld the claim.
On appeal, however, Cloete J found that temporary impossibility of performance does not of itself bring the contract to an immediate end. Only where the foundation of the contract has been destroyed, or where all or part of the performance is already (or would inevitably become) impossible, is the creditor entitled to regard the contract as having ended.
The test for impossibility has been formulated in a variety of ways, but the court found that it was neither necessary nor desirable to lay down a concrete formula:
The facts in some cases will lend themselves more readily to the application of one test, whereas other cases will more easily be disposed of by the application of another test. In every case a value judgment, based on objective criteria, will be required to establish whether it is just that the bargain should, to the extent still possible, be upheld and the obligations of the parties adjusted. On the one hand, the court should not make a new contract for the parties. On the other hand, neither party should be allowed to escape its obligations where the essence of the contract is still capable of performance.
The appeal was upheld with costs and the magistrate's order set aside.