What Is a Defined Term in a Contract

What Is a Defined Term in a Contract

Terms are terms that go to the root of a contract. Breach of a condition gives the innocent party the right to terminate the contract. [2] A guarantee[3] is less binding than a condition, so the contract survives a breach. Breach of any condition or warranty will result in damages. The 1999 Regulation on unfair terms in consumer contracts[32] reg 8 invalidates any `unfair` contract term when it is concluded between a seller or supplier and a consumer. [33] Section 5 of the Order extends the concept of “unjust”, which is quite new in English law. “Unfair” means a term in a standard form (in particular not individually negotiated) that “creates a significant imbalance in the rights and obligations of the parties arising from the contract to the detriment of the consumer”. [34] It must also be shown that the concept lacks “good faith”; the action was dismissed in Director General of Fair Trading v. First National Bank plc[35] because lowering a relatively high interest rate (which was lower than usurious rates) would mean that the borrower could have safely ignored interest rates in its loan agreements (see UK requirements for financial advice/waivers to consumers in large consumer credit agreements) and that rate-based lenders of high interest would not receive interest Would be. Whenever the person drafting the contract wishes to refer to this definition, he or she can simply insert “the Services” using the capitalized term, and the parties know that they are referring to the defined term.

If the contract included the word “services” without capitalization, the definition would not apply and you would assume that the word was used in its everyday sense. The rules for defined terms, especially if a term is to be defined and if subsequent uses of that word are to begin with a capital letter, may seem obscure and complicated. In fact, they are quite simple and we explain them here. It is important to define terms, as this reduces the risk of uncertainty in a contract, especially when the defined terms outweigh the usual meaning of a clause. In addition, it ensures that the terms used in a contract have the same meaning each time they are used. It is common for lengthy negotiations to be recorded in a treaty document (sometimes unsigned and sometimes marked as “contractual”) that contains a clause stating that the rest of the agreement must be negotiated. Although these cases appear to fall into the category of agreements, Australian courts will imply an obligation to negotiate in good faith, provided certain conditions are met:[31] The use of defined terms is often essential. However, a draftsman should always avoid them if possible. They may clarify the meaning of the law, but they may also tend to make a document more complicated to read and understand because a reader has to resort to the definition. The definition of a term gives that word or expression a specific and special meaning in the context of the legal document and not the meaning that would be used in everyday language. Rarely, the defined conditions are at the end of the contract. By the time you get there, you`ve read the entire contract and you have a sense of the whole, which can make it easier to appreciate and understand the definitions.

Defining the terms of a contract can make the contract more concise and reduce uncertainty in the interpretation of the contract. When reading a contract, it is important to read the defined terms (and not skip them). If you have any questions about the interpretation of the terms of your contract, please contact LegalVision`s contract lawyers on 1300 544 755 or fill out the form on this page. Most well-written legal agreements define certain words and phrases. Contracts define words in two ways. First, a contract may include the defined terms listed in a standalone section, which is usually found at the beginning of the agreement. A second option is to anchor the definitions throughout the agreement. With this method, the first time the word is used, there is a definition that follows it. For example, an agreement could read as follows: “The consultant shall provide the consulting and strategy services described in Schedule 1” (the “Services”)” This way, if the author is to refer to the consultant`s services later in the contract, he can simply write the word “services”.

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