Prior breach of contractual obligations and the effects of breach on the contract (a comparative study).

The means used to ensure the performance of contracts are available to the contractor only when the deadline for the performance of the contract has fallen and the other party to the contractual relationship has not fulfilled its obligations. However, in some cases, based on the words or actions of the debtor, and before the deadline for fulfilling the obligation, the obligor (creditor) reaches the conclusion that the obligor (the debtor) will not perform his obligations on time. In such cases the question of a previous breach of contract arises. In the event of an actual breach of the contract concluded between two parties, the principle is that the penalty must be based on a precisely defined legal right, i.e. the breach in that case is considered a verified, due and specific breach and its effect entails an actual violation of the creditor's right.However, this idea does not apply in the case of prior breach because it is based mainly on the expectation and identification of the breach before the due date, and this is the essence of the idea of prior breach, through which a distinction is made between a prior breach and an actual breach. The 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods expressly refers to the issue of prior breach of contract. Despite the great importance of this issue and its consequences, Arab legislation has not addressed this issue explicitly, although it can be argued that the issue of prior breach of contract can be implicitly inferred from the general rules of such laws.