Mistake is a vitiating factor in contract law. It arises where one or more parties enter into a contract based on a false assumption of fact that existed at the time the contract was formed. The law recognises that genuine agreement cannot exist where parties are fundamentally mistaken about essential facts underlying the contract.
In Ghana, the doctrine of mistake is governed by the common law, which forms part of the laws of Ghana under Article 11 of the 1992 Constitution. The principles developed by English courts continue to apply subject to statutory modifications and Ghanaian judicial interpretation.