There is no obligation to perform the impossible.

Explanation

No contract, statute, or condition can bind a man to do what cannot be done — the law does not command absurdities.

Where this applies

• The contract says I must deliver goods by tomorrow but the factory burned down last night.
• A court order requires me to produce a document that was destroyed in a flood.

See also

• 2.1.10 The law does not compel the impossible.
• 6.2.3 Things impossible to give, or which do not exist in nature, are treated as though they were not part of the agreement.