The Possibility of Lawful Act Economic Duress: Pakistan International Airlines Corp v Times Travel (UK) Ltd

Abstract

The voidability of a contract procured by ‘economic duress’ is now well-established, but the precise boundaries of the doctrine remain contested. In Pakistan International Airlines Corp v Times Travel (UK) Ltd [2021] UKSC 40, the Supreme Court confronted the longstanding controversy as to whether a threat to perform a lawful act can provide grounds for a threatened party to avoid a contract for economic duress. This note argues that the Court's decision to affirm the existence of ‘lawful act duress’ is welcome. It is further argued that the specific kind of lawful act duress identified by the majority and relevant to determining the appeal, described as ‘deliberate maneuvering via illegitimate means’, provides helpful (and defensible) clarification of the content of this doctrine, and that the Court was correct to hold that the contract in Times Travel was not voidable on this basis.