The court may order a “specific performance” requiring performance of the contract. In some circumstances, a court will order a party to honor its promise (a “specific performance” injunction) or issue an order called an “injunction” to have a party refrain from doing anything that would be contrary to the contract. A special service is available for the breach of a contract for the sale of land or real estate for reasons such that the property has a unique value. In the United States, the specific benefit in personal contracts, under the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, is only legal “as punishment for a crime aimed at convicting the criminal in a blunt manner.” [144] Contracts are not enforceable unless both parties are able to give their consent, which means that they are over 18 years of age and can understand the terms and importance of the contract. In most states, a minor can enter into a contract, but he or she can cancel it at any time. This is called a countervailable contract. In England, some contracts (insurance and partnerships) require extreme good faith, while others require good faith (employment contracts and agency). Most English treaties do not need good faith, provided the law is respected. There is, however, a comprehensive concept of `protection of legitimate expectations`. Some treaties are subject to multilateral instruments that oblige an unelected court to dismiss cases and require recognition of judgments rendered by courts on the basis of a jurisdiction clause. For example, the instruments of the Brussels regime (31 European states) and the Hague Agreement on the courts (European Union, Mexico, Montenegro, Singapore), as well as several legal acts relating to a particular area, may require courts to enforce and recognise choice clauses and foreign judgments. In colonial times, the concept of consideration was exported to many common law countries, but it is unknown in Scotland and civil courts.
[28] Roman legal systems[29] do not require or recognize any consideration, and some commentators have proposed abandoning the counterpart and replacing it as the basis for treaties. [30] However, legislation, not the development of justice, has been presented as the only way to eliminate this entrenched doctrine from the common law. Lord Justice Denning said: “The doctrine of consideration is too well entrenched to be overturned by a side wind.” [31] In the United States, the focus has been on the negotiation process, as hamer v. Sidway (1891) shows. In the United Kingdom, the offence in the Contracts of Infringement Act 1977 is defined as: [i] Non-performance, [ii] poor performance, [iii] partial performance or [iv] performance significantly different from what was reasonably expected. Innocent parties can only revoke the contract because of a serious breach (breach of the condition)[134][135], but they can still claim damages provided that the breach caused foreseeable harm.