Performance of contracts

A contract may be discharged in a number of ways; most commonly through performance, by the parties, of their contractual obligations.

General rule

As a general rule, for a contract to be discharged by performance the contractual obligations must be performed completely and exactly; it is not sufficient to 'substantially' perform a contract.

Exceptions to the general rule

There are, however, some exceptions to the rule that exact performance is required. The parties may also modify this requirement - by expressly or implicitly providing that exact performance is not required. Determining the relevant level of performance will, therefore, depend on proper construction of the contract involved.