header-logo header-logo

Not just any contract…

25 November 2016 / Andrew Burns KC , Ishaani Shrivastava
Issue: 7724 / Categories: Features , Commercial
printer mail-detail
nlj_7724_burns

Andrew Burns QC & Ishaani Shrivastava examine the implication & construction of contract terms following Marks & Spencer

  • The importance of the traditional tests for implied terms.
  • Commercial parties should not rely on the courts to correct contracts.

The circumstances in which courts will imply a term into a commercial contract and the Hoffmann approach to contractual interpretation has been a matter of controversy between practitioners, academics and even between judges in recent years. Marks & Spencer v BNP Paribas Securities [2015] UKSC 72, [2016] 4 All ER 441 gave the Supreme Court an opportunity to clarify this vital area of the law of contract. But has the Supreme Court’s gentle rejection of Hoffmann’s unitary theory of contractual construction taken the courts into calm or stormy waters in the months following its definitive rulings?

Has the Supreme Court’s gentle rejection of Hoffmann’s unitary theory of contractual construction taken the courts into calm or stormy waters?

Implied rent rebate?

The question in Marks & Spencer was whether a rent

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
A construction defect claim in the Court of Appeal offers a sharp lesson in pleading discipline. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains how a catastrophically drafted schedule of loss derailed otherwise viable claims. Across the areas explored in this week's column, the message is consistent: clarity, economy and proper pleading matter more than ever
back-to-top-scroll