Comparing Executed Consideration and Past Consideration

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DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN EXECUTED CONSIDERATION AND PAST CONSIDERATION

Consideration is one of the three main building blocks of a contract in English contract law and it is the exchange of benefit and detriment e.g., the making of a promise in exchange for an act or it can be anything of value such as an item or service which each party to a legally-binding contract must agree to exchange if the contract is to be valid. If only one party offers consideration, the agreement is not legally a binding contract. In its traditional form, consideration is expressed as the requirement that in order for parties to be able to enforce a promise, they must have given something for it (quid pro quo): something must be given or promised in exchange or return for the promise. A contract must be "met with" or "supported by" consideration to be enforceable; also, only a person who has provided consideration can enforce a contract. In other words, if an arrangement consists of a promise which is not supported by consideration, then the arrangement is not a legally enforceable contract.

EXECUTED CONSIDERATION

When a promise is made in exchange for an act, when that act is performed, it is executed consideration for example when you go to a bakery and ask the baker to make you a birthday cake and you pay for his services in advance then we can call the payment Executed consideration for the bakers promise to make the cake.

PAST CONSIDERATION

If a party voluntarily acts and then the other party makes a promise, the act is said to be "past consideration" since the act was already performed and not made in exchange for the promise. For example Korir gives Boit a ride to the market and back home. When Korir delivers Boit to his house, Boit promises to give Korir some money to buy a new rim. Korir cannot sue Boit to enforce Boit's promise since the consideration (Korir's act of giving Boit a ride) occurred before Boit's promise. Korir gave Boit the ride without expecting anything in return. (Korir did not give Boit a ride in exchange for Boit giving Korir money hence past consideration is of no effect to consideration at all.

For example In Eastwood v Kenyon, the guardian of a young girl raised a loan to educate the girl and to improve her marriage prospects. After her marriage, her husband promised to pay off the loan. It was held that the guardian could not enforce the promise as taking out the loan to raise and educate the girl was past consideration, because it was completed before the husband promised to repay it.

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