Anthony R. Gold wrote:
> On Thu, 08 May 2008 07:51:31 GMT, Ronald Raygun
> wrote:
>
>> You can't just go and tell someone how marvellous they've been and
>> to expect a reward, and then give them the reward, and later tell
>> them you've made a mistake and they're not really as marvellous as
>> all that and could they give back the reward please.
>
> Can't mean what? Physically impossible, contrary to some law or right or
> merely a naughty thing to do?
Well it's clearly not physically impossible, but I would say it's more than
just naughty. It's downright dishonourable, and I'd have thought it would
also be "contrary to some law".
A non-contractual gratuitous reward accepted in good faith amounts to
an unconditional gift. It seems inconceivable that there should be a
right to reverse such a gift, other than perhaps to deduct it from a
possible future unconditional gift, but certainly not from any future
contractual pay.
Of course it has meanwhile transpired that it *was* contractual, so this
scenario does not apply.
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