The Sanctity of Contracts in English Law - College of Social ...

Trade Union Legislation 37members lie relates to the enforcement of contractsand not to their validity."Although the courts cannot entertain proceedingsto enforce, or recover damages for breach of, theagreements which I have enumerated they are notdebarred from granting some other kind of relief orassistance, such, for example, as a declaration on theinterpretation of the rules of a union, or on thevalidity or invalidity of an expulsion from membershipof a union; and in the recent case of Bonsor v.Musicians' Union 30 the House of Lords decided thata registered trade union could be sued for breach ofcontract by the wrongful expulsion of a member andthat the union was liable in damages for such breach.The expulsion was wrongful because the power toexpel given by the union membership rules had notbeen exercised in accordance with those rules.I am not concerned to explain in detail the positionof trade unions and their members with respect totheir contractual liability. Nor am I concerned toexpress a view as to whether industrial relations andindustrial progress would be better served if groupor association regulations and agreements were giventhe full force, effect and sanctions associated withenforceable contracts. This is obviously a matteron which there can be differences of opinion. Thatquestion is discussed at some length by my colleagueProfessor Kahn Freund in an article in the BritishJournal of Sociology. 31 In that article 32 he points30[1956] A.C. 104.« Vol. V, No. 3, pp. 193 et seq.32 At p. 203.