The 5th edition provides thorough treatment of one of the most fundamental areas of law - the interpretation of contracts. All those drafting, revising or advising on written agreements will benefit from its detailed discussion of the rules of contract interpretation.

In this volume Mitchell examines case law, academic debate and the resurgence of interest in formalist contract interpretation in the US to explore the meaning of contextual interpretation, arguments for and against it and suggestions on how parties may influence the interpretation methods applied to their agreement. Identifying controversial issues, arguments and analyzing possible future developments, this book addresses a range of questions, including: How far should it be possible for courts, through the process of interpretation, to control the bargain made between parties? Are judges applying the principles of interpretation in the same way? What is the relevant context of an agreement? Should contracting parties be able to opt out of a particular interpretative approach by use of mechanisms such as entire agreement clauses? Short and concise, this is a useful reference tool for those interested in contract and tort law.

This book is a unique and extensive comparative study of commercial contract interpretation across 14 selected jurisdictions, namely Croatia, England and Wales, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, South Africa, Spain and Sweden. Using a dynamic comparative case method, the focus is centered on the discussion of key legal problems, further examined in a detailed and comprehensive comparative analysis. Contributions written from a law and economics, and European private law perspectives place the key legal issues into context and make Interpretation of Commercial Contracts in European Private Law a coherent and valuable resource for academics and practitioners with a European or International focus.

This is an overview of interpretation and gap filling mechanisms in international commercial contracts covering CISG, UNIDROIT Principles, PECL and DCFR.

"As the book clearly explains, there are situations in which questions of contract law need to be examined by investment tribunals - mainly as preliminary or incidental questions, to determine issues such as contract liability or breach of contract, that in turn are assumed as a basis for the issues of investment law in dispute"--

THE INTERPRETATION OF CONTRACTS IN AUSTRALIA provides practitioners with essential guidance on the construction and interpretation of contracts, including in difficult matters of disputed interpretation. This adaptation of the widely acclaimed English title THE INTERPRETATION OF CONTRACTS by Sir Kim Lewison has been long awaited. Former Chief Justice Spigelman of the Supreme Court of NSW writes in the Foreword to this work. Now barrister David Hughes and Sir Kim Lewison have thoroughly revised the English text to reflect Australian law, while retaining the structure and principles of interpretation of the first nine chapters of the English edition. These principles of construction and interpretation are discussed in chapters which proceed through the key rules governing each of them. Extracts and summaries of decisions are provided to illustrate the application of those rules. The text's insights will inform the process of drafting or revising a contract by identifying key principles and discussing them comprehensively, yet concisely, with reference to case law. By enabling lawyers to construct arguments rooted in the case law, this new Australian work will help lawyers better challenge contracts and explain their inadequacies.

Bringing together a wide range of theory from social and cognitive psychology, organizational behaviour, organizational learning and the management of change, this text draws useful conclusions about important psychological processes.

Contract drafting is different from the other types of writing that a new lawyer is faced with. Law school contracts classes rarely consider the issues that arise in sophisticated commercial transactions. A new lawyer is therefore forced to learn by doing and observing -- in high-pressure 'on the job' training. Now there is help. Working with Contracts: What Law School Doesn't Teach You provides the beginning lawyer with an operative understanding of the vocabulary and the building blocks of contracts. It introduces the basic elements of all contracts; describes the lawyer's role in the drafting and negotiating process; discusses amendments, waivers, and consents; and addresses issues that arise in reviewing contracts, including due diligence issues. It also offers sample provisions, drafting checklists, and an expansive glossary of contract language and basic transactional practice.

Lawyers involved in international commercial transactions know well that unforeseen events affecting the performance of a party often arise. Not surprisingly, exemptions for non-performance are dealt with in a significant number of arbitral awards. This very useful book thoroughly analyzes contemporary approaches, particularly as manifested in case law, to the scope and content of the principles of exemption for non-performance which are commonly referred to as 'force majeure' and 'hardship.' The author shows that the 'general principles of law' approach addresses this concern most effectively. Generally accepted and understood by the business world at large, this approach encompasses principles of international commercial contracts derived from a variety of legal systems. It's most important 'restatements' are found in the 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (UPICC). Establishing specific standards and "case groups" for the exemptions under review, the analysis treats such recurring elements as the following: contractual risk allocations; unforeseeability of an impediment; impediments beyond the typical sphere of risk and control of the obligor; responsibility for third parties (subcontractors, suppliers); legal impediments (acts of public authority) and effect of mandatory rules; involvement of states or state enterprises; interpretation of force majeure and hardship clauses; hardship threshold test; frustration of purpose; irreconcilable differences; comparison with exemptions under domestic legal systems (impossibility of performance, frustration of contract, impracticability) The book is a major contribution to the development of the use of general principles of law in international commercial arbitration. It may be used as a comprehensive commentary on the force majeure and hardship provisions of the UPICC, as well as on Art. 79 of the CISG. In addition, as an insightful investigation into the fundamental question of the limits of the principle of sanctity of contracts, this book is sure to capture the attention of business lawyers and interested academics everywhere.