Issues in the Law of Rescission

Rescission is the principal mechanism by which voluntarily assumed obligations and transactions are unwound. It is important to a range of commercial and non-commercial transactions and is raised regularly before courts at all levels. Despite this prevalence, the law on rescission remains poorly understood and riddled with controversies. Issues in the Law of Rescission brings together leading academics to tackle some of the most challenging and pressing issues facing the law of rescission. Across 11 chapters, it addresses theoretical issues, such as the proper structure of rescission, the justification for powers to rescind, and rescission's relationship to the law of unjust enrichment. The various chapters also offer guidance on specific doctrinal issues, ranging from the grounds of rescission to practical difficulties in establishing the grounds, bars to rescission, rescission in the context of corporate transacting, fiduciary relationships, and gift-giving, and the proprietary consequences of rescission. The chapters carefully set out the existing law, critique difficult decisions, and chart a path forward, offering guidance on how future disputes should be resolved. With fresh and compelling arguments for what the law is and how open questions ought to be resolved, Issues in the Law of Rescission will form an essential part of any commercial lawyer's library.

Jordan English is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Oxford and a Tutor and Fellow in Law at Magdalen College. He is also an Associate Member of 3 Verulam Buildings. His research focuses on private law, with a particular emphasis on contract and property. He is the author of Discharge of Contractual Obligations (Oxford University Press, 2025) and the co-author of The Law of Tracing (Federation Press, 2021). Jonas Atmaz Al-Sibaie is the Shaw Foundation Junior Research Fellow in Law at Jesus College, Oxford. His research extends to all areas of private law, with a particular focus on commercial and property law. His research has been published in leading journals in the common law world and been relied on before the United Kingdom Supreme Court.