What happens to a contract if consent was deceitfully acquired?

When consent is deceitfully acquired, the contract is considered voidable. This means that the party who was deceived has the right to affirm or rescind the contract. In legal terms, deceit involves misrepresentation or fraud, where one party leads another to agree to the contract based on false information.

If the deceived party chooses to rescind the contract, they effectively nullify it and return to the position they were in before the contract was made. However, if they choose to affirm the contract despite the deception, it remains valid and enforceable. This principle protects individuals from being bound by agreements made under false pretenses, reinforcing the importance of genuine consent in contractual relationships.

In contrast, a contract that remains valid would imply that the deceit has no effect on its enforceability, which is not the case here. An enforceable contract means that both parties are held to its terms, which doesn’t apply when consent was acquired through deceit. A contract that is automatically void is one that has no legal effect from the outset, such as contracts for illegal activities, which differs from the circumstances involving deceit. Therefore, recognizing the contract as voidable upholds the integrity of consent in contracts.