admissibility of evidence 59, 86, 87 agency 113

arbitration 130

Arden LJ 41, 83, 84–5, 89, 140, 141 artificiality of contractual

interpretation 12

Barnett, R. E. 129

Berg, A. 75, 113–14 Berger, K. P. 58

Bernstein, Lisa 102–3, 117–18, 119, 120, 121

best endeavours clauses 118 Bingham, Lord 16, 18, 62 Blackburn, Lord 39 boilerplate terms 131, 141 bounded rationality 106

Campbell, D. 107, 118 Charny, D. 108, 120

choice of forum clauses 129, 130 choice of law clauses 129–30 choosing interpretative method

126–8

Cli ord Chance 127–8 Clyde, Lord 46 coercive power 5 collateral contracts 26

Collins, Hugh 10, 13, 25–6, 42, 43, 46, 48, 54, 55, 119

commercial contracts 2–3, 14 common intention 48, 71–6, 88 completeness of contracts 34 conduct of parties 37, 83–4

construction: interpretation and 26–7; rules of 1, 96

consumer contracts 2–3, 17 contextual interpretation 2, 4–5,

8–11, 16, 21, 25, 28, 60, 61, 90–1; accessing ‘real’ agreement 54–7; choice of context 67–71; choosing interpretative method 126–8; conduct of parties 37, 83–4; costs 79–81, 108–14; entire agreement clauses 129, 130, 131–48; European developments 57–60, 89, 90; existence of contextual materials 121–3; flexible norms versus legal norms 117–21; impossibility of dispensing with context 145–7; intentions 12, 18, 19, 32–3, 34, 47–51, 59, 71–6; interdisciplinarity and 57; judicial error over significance of 114–17; limitations 71–84; Lord Ho mann’s restatement 1, 39–53, 54, 60, 61, 95; meaning of ‘context’ 51–3; prior negotiations 37, 40, 76–83, 84, 85, 87–8; reasonable person versus pedantic lawyer 64–7; relaxation of exclusionary rules 84–90; relevance of context 62–4; subsuming literalism 43–7; UNIDROIT Principles and 47, 89–90, 139

contra proferentem rule 37 contracts: implied terms 23–6, 118;

interpretation see interpretation of contracts; meaning of ‘contract’ 12–15; relational 105–8; social dimension 55–6, 57; standard form 17, 38

controlling interpretation 125–6, 148; entire agreement clauses 129, 130, 131–48; methods of control 128–31

controversies in contractual interpretation 15–17

costs: of considering prior negotiations 79–81; of contextualism 108–14

Cozens-Hardy, Lord 38

Denning, Lord 80–1 Devlin, Lord 36, 128 Diplock, Lord 41, 47 drafting errors 20, 21, 28

economic loss 17 economics: law and 100, 102 ejusdem generis rule 37

empirically defended formalism 101–3

enforcement costs 108

entire agreement clauses 129, 130, 131–48; evading 144–5; identifying and interpreting obligations 138–44; impossibility of dispensing with context 145–7; influencing interpretation 136–7; pushing interpretative enquiry a stage back 147–8; resurrecting parol evidence rule 137–8

estoppel 17, 83

European Union law 17, 38, 47, 57–60, 89, 90

expectations 56; reasonable 13–14, 34

expressio unius exclusio alterius 38

fairness 132 Falconer, Lord 59–60 Farnsworth, E. A. 72 Fish, Stanley 8, 85

flexible norms versus legal norms 117–21

formalism 93–5, 123; choosing interpretative method 126–8; in contract 95–6; empirically defended 101–3; interpretation and 96–9; neoformalism 99–101; reasons for choosing 108–23; relational contract and 105–8; should formalism be taken seriously? 99–101; theoretically defended 103–5

France: common intention in 73–4 Fried, Charles 9

gap filling 23–6, 109, 110 Gava, John 116

Gibson, Peter 22

Go , Lord 18, 39, 80, 96, 119–20 Greene, Janey 116

Greene, Lord 96 Greenwalt, Kent 15

Hale LJ 97 Harris, D. 118 Hart, H. L. A. 7

hire purchase contracts 35 Ho mann, Lord 1, 2, 12, 21, 24, 27,

28, 31, 32, 37, 39–53, 54, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 71, 72, 74, 76, 78, 84, 95, 138

Hope, Lord 68–9, 126

implied terms in contracts 23–6, 118 inconsistencies 21

intentions 12, 18, 19, 32–3, 34, 47–51, 59; common intention 48, 71–6, 88

interdisciplinarity in law 57 interpretation of contracts 1–4, 29;

choosing interpretative method 126–8; construction and 26–7; contextual see contextual interpretation; contractual power and 18–19; controlling interpretation 125–6, 128–31, 148; controversies 15–17; entire agreement clauses 129, 130, 131–48; general theory of interpretation 5–6; implication and 23–6, 118; interpretation and

meaning 6–8, 40; literal see literal (textual) interpretation; meaning of ‘interpretation’ 4–5, 41–3; principles of interpretation 31–8; range of problems 20–3; reason for disputes 28–9; when it is required 41–3

Investors Compensation Scheme (ICS) 20

Jauncey, Lord 96 Judge LJ 81–2 judicial error 114–17

Kaplow, L. 102

Katz, A. W. 95, 102, 129, 147

Kramer, Adam 25, 52, 85

Kraus, J. 120

law and economics 100, 102 Lewison, Kim 24

linguistic mistakes 52–3

literal (textual) interpretation 1, 2, 4, 12, 18, 19, 33–7, 38–9; choosing interpretative method 126–8; subsumed by contextual interpretation 43–7; see also formalism

Lloyd, Lord 16, 20, 63, 64, 65

MacCormick, Neil 28, 101 McKendrick, Ewan 24, 58, 59, 78,

85, 129

McMeel, G. 78, 137 Macneil, Ian 105, 106, 107 Marmor, Andrei 7

matrix of fact 40, 41, 71, 77 meaning: interpretation and 6–8, 40;

see also contextual interpretation mistake 21; judicial error 114–17 Mummery LJ 140

Munby LJ 61 Mustill, Lord 62

neoformalism 99–101 Nicholls, Lord 78, 83, 142

objectivity 12–13, 49, 50 o cious bystander test 26

parol evidence rule 13, 34, 35–6, 117, 137–8

Peden, Elizabeth 26

Perillo, Joseph 33–4 Phillips, Lord 27 Posner, E. 117

Posner, Richard 75, 85 post-contractual variation 83 power: interpretation and

contractual power 18–19 precedents 96; interpretation and

31–2

prior negotiations 37, 40, 76–83, 84, 85, 87–8; costs of consideration 79–81; helpfulness, relevance and legal framework 81–3; subjectivity 78–9

rationality: bounded 106 reasonable expectations 13–14, 34 reasonable person test 49–50, 64–7 record keeping 56

rectification 26, 40, 52–3 relational contract: formalism and

105–8

Saville LJ 63, 75 Schauer, F. 15, 103, 117 Scott, R. E. 112

seal: contracts under 36 signature on contracts 36 Smith, S. 37

social dimension of contracts 55–6, 57

standard form contracts 17, 38 Staughton LJ 32, 73, 82

Steyn, Lord 24, 25, 33, 35, 41, 49, 66, 73, 126

stigma damages 44–5 subjectivity 78–9

subsequent conduct of parties 37, 83–4

Sunstein, C. 5, 94, 95, 102, 103–4, 114

textual interpretation see literal (textual) interpretation

theoretically defended formalism 103–5