In contract law, rescission (to rescin or set aside a contract) has been defined as the unmaking of a contract between the parties. Rescission is the unwinding of a transaction. This is done to bring the parties, as far as possible, back to the position in which they were before they entered into a contract (the "status quo ante"). This is an equitable remedy and is discretionary. The court may decline to rescind a contract if one party has affirmed the contract by his action (see Long v Lloyd 1 WLR 753) or a third party has acquired some rights or there has been substantial performance in implementing the contract.