35 Protection of security by the law on unjustified enrichment

The rules on unjustified enrichment respect the binding force of contracts in that a valid contract between the parties will provide a justifying basis for an enrichment conferred by one party on the other within the terms of that contract.1. The rules on unjustified enrichment buttress the protection of rights within private law by the principle that a wrongdoer is not permitted to profit from the exploitation of another's rights. A non-innocent use of another's assets as a rule creates an obligation to pay for the value of that use,2. so helping to remove any incentive to make improper use of another's property. Protection of reasonable reliance and expectations as a value and aim is relevant to both the elements of the claim and the grounds of defence within the rules on unjustified enrichment. A person who confers an enrichment on another in circumstances where it is reasonable to expect a counter-benefit, or the return of the benefit if events do not turn out as expected, is protected by being entitled to a reversal of the enrichment if the agreement on which reliance was placed turns out not to be valid or if the mutually anticipated outcome does not occur.3. Equally, the interests of the recipient of a benefit are protected if the recipient relies on the apparent entitlement to the benefit received. Such protection is conferred by the defence of disenrichment, where the recipient disposes of the benefit in a bona fide assumption that there is a right to do so,4. or by a defence, protecting faith in the market, where an acquirer has given value to a third party in good faith for the benefit received.5.