Construction of Commercial Contracts and Parol Evidence

31 Pages Posted: 28 Jan 2010

See all articles by Yock Lin Tan

Yock Lin Tan

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Faculty of Law

Abstract

This article argues that theories of interpretation and pragmatics offer solid proof that the rule-based model of construction is flawed and that the judicial shift to commercial interpretation is correct. One insight gained by analysing in the light of these theories what the courts in fact do when they construe commercial contracts is the impossibility of limiting the context to any given set of data, since the contextual-dependence of sentences is both the generator and resolver of any set of interpretative hypotheses. Other valuable insights are that a principle of rationality is necessarily presupposed in any institutionalised interactive goal-oriented communication and that the principle of instrumental rationality necessarily presupposed in the making of a contract is that the assignment of meaning shall accord with the commercial purposes of the contract.

Suggested Citation

Tan, Yock Lin, Construction of Commercial Contracts and Parol Evidence. Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, pp. 301-331, December 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1543549

Yock Lin Tan (Contact Author)

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Faculty of Law ( email )

469G Bukit Timah Road
Eu Tong Sen Building
Singapore, 259776
Singapore

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