Letter Before Action: Breach of Contract (Gibraltar)
Updated on 22 August 2026
In Gibraltar the letter you send when the other side has not performed is usually called a letter before action, or a letter of claim. Its job is to set out the claim clearly enough that the other side can respond, demand a specific remedy by a specific date, preserve every right you have not used, and create evidence that notice was given.
Gibraltar's contract law follows English common law and its civil procedure is modelled on the English rules, so the shape of the letter will be familiar. Two local points change the drafting: proceedings go to the Supreme Court of Gibraltar, not an English court, and the interest you can claim depends on the contract and on Gibraltar's own legislation rather than on the English late-payment statute that most templates cite by reflex. The source template this replaces was written as an American attorney's letter on a law-firm letterhead, which is the wrong instrument for a party writing on its own behalf.
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Letter Before Action — Breach of Contract
- Date:
- From:
- , ,
- To:
- ,
- Notice address used:
- Delivered by:
- Contract:
- dated , reference
Dear ,
This is a letter before action about a breach of the contract identified above. It is sent to the notice address the contract specifies, by the method stated, by me as . Please read it carefully and respond by the date at the end.
1. The Obligation and the Breach
The contract required the following: Performance was due on .
What actually happened:
Amount claimed: . Other loss and cost, so far as it can be quantified today:
2. Our Own Performance
For completeness: If you say any obligation of ours is outstanding, please identify it in writing with particulars so it can be dealt with rather than asserted generally.
3. What We Require
We require:
Under the of the contract you have the opportunity to remedy this breach, and we require it to be remedied by in accordance with that clause.
If the breach is not remedied by that date:
4. Documents
We enclose or attach the following: Please tell us promptly if you need any further document in order to respond, and provide the documents you rely on with your reply.
5. Resolving This Without Proceedings
We would prefer to resolve this without proceedings and are willing to discuss the matter or to take part in mediation. Please say in your reply whether you are willing to do so and what form you propose.
6. Reservation of Rights
Nothing in this letter, and no delay, discussion or indulgence on our part, waives or limits any right or remedy available to us under the contract or at law, including any right to terminate, to suspend performance, to withhold payment, to claim damages, interest and costs, or to begin proceedings. All rights are expressly reserved.
7. Response
Please respond in writing by to , saying what you will do and by when. If we receive no substantive response by that date we will proceed on the basis set out above, and any proceedings will be brought in the Supreme Court of Gibraltar.
Yours faithfully,
Signed
Date:
Write it as the party, not as a firm
Most people who need this document are the contracting party, and a party can give notice of breach itself. Sending something that looks like it came from a law firm when it did not is a real risk, and in a jurisdiction as small as Gibraltar it is also easy to expose.
This template is written to be sent in your own name, with an optional version for a lawyer who is genuinely instructed. It also asks how the letter was delivered, because you may later need to prove the date notice was given.
Cure periods: what the contract says versus what is reasonable
Many commercial contracts give the defaulting party a period to fix the problem before the other side can terminate or sue; some do not. The source template assumes there is always such a clause and asks you to cite an article number, which produces a letter that either misstates the contract or invents a deadline.
This version handles both cases. If there is a cure clause, the letter refers to it by name and applies its period. If not, the letter demands performance within a stated reasonable period and says expressly that is what it is doing — which matters if a judge, an arbitrator or an insurer reads it later.
Particulars, and the rights you can lose by accident
A letter saying performance has been "wholly unsatisfactory" achieves nothing. A letter identifying the obligation, the date it was due, what actually happened and the loss so far is a document the other side has to answer. It also forces you to check that you have performed your own side, which is the first thing the other party will raise.
Two traps then sit in the letter itself. Where a breach is repudiatory, a party who keeps performing and pressing for performance may be treated as having affirmed the contract and lost the right to treat it as at an end. And a short reservation-of-rights sentence closes off the argument that allowing extra time waived something. This template includes both.
Interest, limitation and where proceedings go
On interest, rely on the contract rate where the contract sets one. Do not import the English late-payment statute by assumption — check what Gibraltar's own legislation provides for interest on debts and for pre-judgment interest before stating a figure you cannot support.
Limitation periods are set by Gibraltar's limitation legislation and correspondence does not stop the clock. If time may be short, take advice rather than continuing to write letters. And the letter should be clear that any proceedings would be brought in the Supreme Court of Gibraltar, so the recipient knows exactly what it is facing.
Part-by-part guide to the letter
- Heading and capacity
- Marks the letter as a letter before action and records whether the party or an instructed lawyer is writing.
- Sender and recipient
- Your details and the recipient's contract notice address, not just the person you usually email.
- Contract identification
- Contract name, date and reference so there is no doubt which agreement is in issue.
- Service statement
- How the letter was delivered, so the date of notice can be proved.
- Particulars of the breach
- The obligation, the date due, what actually happened and the loss so far.
- Your own performance
- Heads off the standard counter-allegation and asks for particulars of it.
- What you require, and by when
- The remedy sought and the deadline, under the contract's cure clause or as a reasonable period you allow.
- Interest
- Optional. The contract rate, without importing another jurisdiction's statutory figure.
- Consequences
- What you will do if the deadline passes — accurately, and only what the contract and the law permit.
- Settlement discussion
- An offer to discuss or mediate, kept separate from the formal demand.
- Reservation of rights
- Confirms that allowing time waives nothing.
- Response required
- A named contact, a date, and where proceedings would be brought.
Gibraltar points to check before sending
Follow the contract's notice clause
A notice given otherwise than as the contract requires may be ineffective. Use the specified address, method and any copy requirement, and keep proof of delivery.
Name the Supreme Court of Gibraltar
Proceedings in Gibraltar are brought in the Supreme Court of Gibraltar. Copying an English jurisdiction reference into a local letter creates avoidable confusion.
Gibraltar Courts ServiceDo not assume the English late-payment statute applies
Check what Gibraltar's own legislation provides for interest on commercial debts and for pre-judgment interest before claiming a rate. Where the contract sets a rate, rely on that.
Check the limitation position
Limitation periods are set by Gibraltar's limitation legislation and correspondence does not extend them. Take advice if time may be short.
Gibraltar LawsAvoid affirming the contract by accident
If the breach may be repudiatory and you might want to terminate, do not unequivocally commit to continuing performance while pressing for a remedy.
Keep settlement material separate
Put any compromise proposal in a clearly labelled without-prejudice section so it does not weaken the formal notice you may want to rely on.
Do not present the letter as coming from a lawyer
Send it in your own name unless a lawyer is genuinely instructed. In a jurisdiction this size, a letter dressed up as a firm's correspondence is easy to expose.
How to complete this letter
- Check the notice clause. Find the contract's notice address and method and use them.
- Set out the breach. Enter the obligation, the date it was due, what happened and the loss so far.
- Choose the deadline basis. Use the contract's cure period if there is one; otherwise set a reasonable period and say so.
- Decide on interest. Claim the contract rate if there is one, and leave it out if you cannot support a figure.
- Add the enclosures and ADR offer. List the documents you rely on and offer to discuss or mediate.
- Send it with proof. Download, send by a method that produces a delivery record, keep the receipt and diarise the deadline.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a lawyer to send a letter before action in Gibraltar?
No. A party can give notice of breach itself, and this template is written to be sent in your own name. Instruct a lawyer where the sums are significant, the terms are genuinely contested, the limitation period may be close, or terminating is on the table. What you should not do is present a self-written letter as if it came from a firm.
How long should I give them to respond?
If the contract sets a cure period, use it. Otherwise allow a period that is genuinely reasonable for the obligation involved — commonly 14 to 28 days for commercial performance, shorter where the contract is time-critical — and say in the letter that you are allowing a reasonable period rather than claiming a contractual entitlement.
Can I claim 8% above base rate like a UK letter?
Not by assumption. That figure comes from the English late-payment statute, which is not the starting point for a Gibraltar contract. Rely on the contract's interest rate if it has one, and check what Gibraltar's own legislation provides before stating any other figure — an unsupported interest claim weakens an otherwise good letter.
Which court would proceedings go to?
The Supreme Court of Gibraltar. Saying so in the letter is useful: it tells the recipient exactly what they are facing, and it avoids the confusion that follows when a template drafted for England refers to English courts.
Should I threaten to terminate?
Only if you have checked that you can, and be careful how you say it. Where a breach may be repudiatory, continuing to press for performance while unequivocally committing to the contract can be treated as affirming it and losing the right to terminate. If termination is a real option, take advice before sending.
How should I send it?
By the method the contract requires, and by a route that produces a record — recorded post, a signed-for courier, or email with a retained delivery confirmation. You may later need to prove the date notice was given.
What if they reply saying I breached first?
That is the most common response, which is why this letter includes a short confirmation of your own performance and asks for particulars of any counter-allegation. Reply in writing, keep it factual, and do not stop performing your own obligations on the strength of an accusation without checking your termination and suspension rights.
Related templates
Disclaimer
This template and guide are general information about Gibraltar practice, not legal advice, and nobody has reviewed your dispute. Limitation periods, interest entitlements and termination rights are unforgiving; if the amount matters, take advice before you send or rely on this letter.
