HC Deb 17 April 1917 vol 92 cc1586-7

(1) Where by virtue of any contract of tenancy any person is bound to do or abstain from doing or is under any liability if he does or abstains from doing any act or thing, and by virtue of any Regulation made under any enactment relating to the defence of the realm the doing of such act or thing is restricted or enjoined, he shall not during the continuance of the contract or on the determination thereof be liable to pay any sum of money or incur any forfeiture or other penalty in respect of the failure to do or the doing of such act or thing if and in so far as the failure to do or the doing of such act or thing is attributable to compliance with such restriction or injunction as aforesaid:

Provided that the relief afforded by this provision from the obligation to do any such act or thing in consequence of such a restriction as aforesaid shall be subject to the following provisions:—

  1. (a) If the restriction is removed during the currency of the contract the obligation shall be fulfilled as soon as may be after the restriction is removed;
  2. (b) If the restriction has not been removed before the termination of the contract the person to whom the relief is given shall be liable to pay as damages a sum not exceeding the expenditure (if any) which would have been entailed by the fulfilment of the obligation.

(2) Where upon any application by any party to a contract the Court is satisfied that, owing to any restriction or direction imposed or given by or in pursuance of any Regulation made under any enactment relating to the defence of the realm, any term of the contract cannot be enforced without serious hardship, the Court may, after considering the circumstances of the case and the position of all the parties to the contract and any offer which may have been made by any party for the variation of the contract, suspend or annul the contract on such conditions (if any) as the Court may think fit.

Sir G. HEWART

I beg to move to leave out Sub-section (2). This Amendment is consequential upon the Amendment just dealt with.

Amendment agreed to.