Editing Statute of frauds (section)

===United Kingdom===

====England and Wales====
{{See also|Formalities in English law}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Mercantile Law Amendment Act 1856{{efn|Section 26.}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to amend the Laws of England and Ireland affecting Trade and Commerce.
| year                  = 1856
| citation              = [[19 & 20 Vict.]] c. 97
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = {{ubli|[[England and Wales]]|[[Ireland]]}}{{efn|Section 27.}}
| royal_assent          = 29 July 1856
| commencement          = 29 July 1856{{efn|The [[Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793]].}}
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = [[Bills of Exchange Act 1882]]
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = Amended
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/19-20/97/enacted
| revised_text          = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/19-20/97
| use_new_UK-LEG        = yes
| UK-LEG_title          = Mercantile Law Amendment Act 1856
| collapsed             = yes
}}
The [[Statute of Frauds]], dating from 1677,{{efn|This [[short title]] was given by the [[Short Titles Act 1896]]. It is written here as printed in "The Public General Acts, 1896", HMSO, 1896.}} was largely repealed in England and Wales by the [[Law Reform (Enforcement of Contracts) Act 1954]] ([[2 & 3 Eliz. 2]]. c. 34). The only provision of it extant is part of Section&nbsp;4<ref>{{cite web |title=Statute of Frauds (1677), Sec. IV |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Cha2/29/3/section/IV |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archives|access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref> which means that contracts of guarantee ([[surety]] for another's debt) are unenforceable unless evidenced in writing. This requirement is clarified by section 3 of the Mercantile Law Amendment Act 1856 ([[19 & 20 Vict.]] c. 97),<ref name=mlaa1856s3>{{cite web |title=Mercantile Law Amendment Act 1856, Sec. 3 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/19-20/97/section/3 |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archives|access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref> dated 29 July 1856, which provides that the [[consideration (law)|consideration]] for the guarantee need not appear in writing or require any necessary inference from a written document.<ref name=mlaa1856s3/>

Section 6<ref>{{cite web |title=Statute of Frauds Amendment Act 1828, Sec. 6 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo4/9/14/section/6 |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archive|access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref> of the [[Statute of Frauds Amendment Act 1828]]{{efn|This [[short title]] was given by the [[Short Titles Act 1896]]}} ([[9 Geo. 4]]. c .14) (commonly known as '''[[Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden|Lord Tenterden]]'s Act''')<ref>Clerk and Lindsell on Torts, 16th Edition, 1989, Sweet and Maxwell, paragraph 18-41, at page 1036</ref> was enacted to prevent Section 4 being circumvented by bringing an action against a verbal guarantor for the [[tort of deceit]] (the tort in ''Freeman v. Palsey'').<ref>(1789) 3[[Term Reports|TR]] 51</ref> A common summary of the law is "a verbal guarantee (for a debt) isn't worth the paper it is written on".{{cn|date=April 2022}}

Provisions in section 4 as to formalities for contracts for the sale of land were repealed by Schedule 7 to the [[Law of Property Act 1925]] ([[15 & 16 Geo. 5]]. c. 20), however the requirement that contracts for the sale of land be evidenced in writing was maintained by section 40 of that Act,<ref>{{cite web |title=Law of Property Act 1925, Sec. 40 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/20/section/40/enacted |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=National Archive|access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref> subsequently replaced by section 2 of the [[Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989]] (c. 34).<ref>{{cite web |title=Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, Sec. 2 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/34/section/2 |website=legislation.co.uk |publisher=The National Archive|access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref>

====Scotland====
Section 6 of the [[Mercantile Law Amendment Act Scotland 1856]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Mercantile Law Amendment Act Scotland 1856, c. 60, s. VI |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/19-20/60/section/VI/enacted |website=Legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archives}}</ref> was derived from those parts of section 4 of the Statute of Frauds (1677) which relate to contracts of guarantee and from section 6 of the [[Statute of Frauds Amendment Act 1828]].

It was repealed on 1 August 1995<ref>{{cite web |title=Mercantile Law Amendment Act Scotland 1856 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/19-20/60/section/6 |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archive|access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/7/section/15 |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archive|access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref> by the [[Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995]], sections 14(2)<ref>{{cite web |title=Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995, Sec. 14 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/7/section/14 |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archive|access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref> and Schedule 5<ref>{{cite web |title=Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995, Schedule 5 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/7/schedule/5 |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archive|access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref> (with ss. 9(3)(5)(7), 13, 14(3)).