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ARTICLE · 25 OCTOBER 2023

A Contractual Obligation To Act Rationally? The Braganza Duty In An Irish Context

Dillon Eustace
Dillon Eustace
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Dillon Eustace

Dillon Eustace

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English courts have, for a number of years, recognised that there is an implied duty on a party exercising contractual discretion to do so reasonably or rationally, often referred to as a ‘Braganza duty'.

IrelandLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
John O'Riordan
John O'Riordan
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English courts have, for a number of years, recognised that there is an implied duty on a party exercising contractual discretion to do so reasonably or rationally, often referred to as a 'Braganza duty'. This duty has been implied into contracts that exist in an entirely private law context. But what is the position in Ireland?

What is a Braganza Duty?

The so-called Braganza duty derives from the English Supreme Court decision in Braganza v BP Shipping Limited [2015] UKSC 17 (the 'Braganza Judgment'). This was an employment law case in which no element of public law arose and which involved the exclusion of a death in service benefit where the employer was of the view that the deceased had died by suicide.

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