The New Zealand Law that is written by Lawyers, therefore ambiguous. Condoms, Mandatory?
The Law:
9 Sex workers and clients must adopt safer sex practices
(1)
A person must not provide or receive commercial sexual services unless he or she has taken all reasonable steps to ensure a prophylactic sheath or other appropriate barrier is used if those services involve vaginal, anal, or oral penetration or another activity with a similar or greater risk of acquiring or transmitting sexually transmissible infections.
High Court confirms scope of “all reasonable steps” obligation
In contracts where achieving a specific outcome is crucial but the exact steps to reach it are uncertain, parties often include a clause requiring one or both sides to take “reasonable steps” or to use “reasonable endeavours” to reach the desired result. This approach ensures a commitment to the goal while allowing flexibility in how it is pursued. The recent High Court decision in Remediation NZ Ltd v Enviro NZ Ltd confirms what taking “all reasonable steps” requires.
Key takeaways
A clause in a binding agreement requiring a party to take “all reasonable steps” to enter into a later contract can be enforceable (and was enforceable in this case);
A party who commits to taking “all reasonable steps” must exhaust all reasonable paths or actions to achieve the desired outcome;
An obligation to take “all reasonable steps” towards a particular outcome does not mean the particular outcome must occur.
9 Sex workers and clients must adopt safer sex practices
(1)
A person must not provide or receive commercial sexual services unless he or she has taken all reasonable steps to ensure a prophylactic sheath or other appropriate barrier is used if those services involve vaginal, anal, or oral penetration or another activity with a similar or greater risk of acquiring or transmitting sexually transmissible infections.
High Court confirms scope of “all reasonable steps” obligation
In contracts where achieving a specific outcome is crucial but the exact steps to reach it are uncertain, parties often include a clause requiring one or both sides to take “reasonable steps” or to use “reasonable endeavours” to reach the desired result. This approach ensures a commitment to the goal while allowing flexibility in how it is pursued. The recent High Court decision in Remediation NZ Ltd v Enviro NZ Ltd confirms what taking “all reasonable steps” requires.
Key takeaways
A clause in a binding agreement requiring a party to take “all reasonable steps” to enter into a later contract can be enforceable (and was enforceable in this case);
A party who commits to taking “all reasonable steps” must exhaust all reasonable paths or actions to achieve the desired outcome;
An obligation to take “all reasonable steps” towards a particular outcome does not mean the particular outcome must occur.