Tensions in private law judicial decision-making: a case study on the illegality defence

Abstract

This article explores a recurring tension in judicial decision-making, thrown into sharp relief by recent jurisprudence—between the need for certainty and clarity in the law, and thus the need for clear articulation and enforcement of rules, with the equally important desire to achieve a fair and just result in each case, and thus the need to ensure that the rules are not uncritically applied—through the lens of illegality defence, a crucial, outstanding issue in private law.