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

Executive Arrangements 65To illustrate this proposition I would like to refer tothe case of The Arnphitrite. 2 " In that case theowners of a Swedish ship of that name had, beforesending her to England in March, 1918 (i.e., duringthe First World War), obtained from the BritishLegation in Stockholm an undertaking that the shipwould " earn her own release " if she carried a cargoof at least 60 per cent, approved goods. As ithappened, this undertaking was contrary to the thenusual practice of the British Government; but withoutit the ship would not have sailed to England. On theship's first voyage to England the undertaking washonoured; but on the second voyage the BritishGovernment refused clearance from a British portand the ship was detained and eventually sold. Theowners of the ship thereupon petitioned for damagesfor breach of the undertaking given by the Legation.Their claim was rejected on the main ground that anintention to act in a particular way in a certain eventcould never be made binding on the government. 2811The field of conflict between the concept of thesanctity of contractual obligations and the generalpowers of the State, whether they be legislative oradministrative, is fully and authoritatively discussedby my former colleague, Professor J. D. B. Mitchellof Edinburgh, in his study of The Contracts of PublicAuthorities. 2 * The type of case falling within thefield studied by Professor Mitchell is liable to occur28 [1921] 3 K.B. 500.28a p or a criticism of some of the wide expressions used in thatcase, see Mitchell, op. cit., at p. 55.29Published by the London School of Economics, 1954.