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Yaxley v Gotts [2000] Ch 162 was also concerned with section 2 of the 1989 Act. An oral agreement purporting to grant an interest in land, though void and unenforceable under section 2, was held still to be enforceable on the basis of a constructive trust under section 2(5) which provides that "nothing in this section affects the creation or operation of resulting, implied or constructive trusts". Robert Walker LJ stated, at p 175:

"Parliament's requirement that any contract for the disposition of an interest in land must be made in a particular documentary form, and will otherwise be void, does not have such an obviously social aim as statutory provisions relating to contracts by or with moneylenders, infants, or protected tenants. Nevertheless it can be seen as embodying Parliament's conclusion, in the general public interest, that the need for certainty as to the formation of contracts of this type must in general outweigh the disappointment of those who make informal bargains in ignorance of the statutory requirement. If an estoppel would have the effect of enforcing a void contract and subverting Parliament's purpose it may have to yield to the statutory law which confronts it, except so far as the statute's saving for a constructive trust provides a means of reconciliation of the apparent conflict." Clarke LJ stated, at p 182, that where a particular estoppel relied upon would offend the public policy behind a statute it is necessary to consider the mischief at which the statute is directed. Where a statute had been enacted as the result of the recommendations of the Law Commission it *44 is appropriate to consider those recommendations. He stated that in his opinion: "the contents of that report [Transfer of Land: Formalities for Contracts of Sale etc of Land (1987) (Law Com No 164)] will be of the greatest assistance in deciding whether or not the principles of particular types of estoppel should be held to be contrary to the public policy underlying the Act. In this regard it seems to me that the answer is likely to depend upon the facts of the particular case." Beldam LJ stated, at p 191, that "The general principle that a party cannot rely on an estoppel in the face of a statute depends upon the nature of the enactment, the purpose of the provision and the social policy behind it."