Breach

Breach is a legal term used in England and Scotland to denote the violation of a legal right or obligation. The most common form of this is Breach of Contract. A contract may be broken by simple failure to pay or to perform, or by the debtor making it impossible for him to perform before the time arrives, or by his seriously declaring that he will not perform. In some cases the creditor has a right to specific implement—i.e. an order by the court on the other party to do what he promised to do; but in most cases the remedy is an action of damages for breach of contract; and difficult questions arise as to the proper measure of damages. In an ordinary mercantile sale, for instance, if the seller fails to deliver, the buyer must go into the market within a reasonable time to supply himself. On the other hand, if the buyer breaks the contract, the seller should dispose of the goods as soon as possible, and charge the difference of market and contract price. Breach of Trust consists in the violation of the express or implied obligations of a trustee—e.g. making an investment of trust funds not sanctioned by the trust deed, or using trust funds in the business of the trustee. The liability so incurred is generally to replace the funds, sometimes with penal interest. Such acts are often restrained by interdict or injunction at the instance of the beneficiaries. Breach of trust often takes a criminal complexion, and is punished as embezzlement. Breaches of contract are very rarely criminal—indeed only where the element of conspiracy occurs. Breach of the Peace includes a great variety of criminal acts, from mobbing and rioting down to small police offences. In England, Breach of Close is a technical expression for trespass on private ground; Breach of Pound is the offence of breaking open the place where distrained goods are placed for custody with a view to sale. In Scotland, Breach of Arrestment means the disregard of the prohibition to pay or deliver, which is effected by the use of arrestment in the hands of a debtor; it involves only civil consequences—viz. the liability to pay or deliver a second time. Breach of Interdict, on the other hand, is regarded as a more serious contempt of court, and is often severely punished criminally. See CONTRACT, DAMAGES, TRUST, WARRANTY; and for Breach of Promise of Marriage, see MARRIAGE.