Vorvertragliche Verhandlungen und ihre Bedeutung für die Vertragsauslegung (The Importance of Pre-Contractual Negotiations for the Interpretation of Contracts)

Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht (ZEuP), Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 777-788, 2013

Max Planck Private Law Research Paper No. 13/11

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 Last revised: 19 Dec 2013

See all articles by Hein D. Koetz

Hein D. Koetz

Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law

Date Written: March 15, 2013

Abstract

European legal systems are in basic agreement on the rules of contractual interpretation. However, in Chartbrook v Persimmon Homes (2009) the House of Lords affirmed the view that contrary to what is accepted by other European legal systems pre-contractual negotiations must not be accepted as a means of throwing light on the meaning of a contract. One reason is that under the strict separation in English procedural law of the pre-trial and trial phases the admission of pre-contractual negotiations would add to the cost of litigation. It would also create greater uncertainty of outcome in disputes over interpretation and would therefore be contrary to the interests of most business litigants which English contract law seems to take into account more seriously than most Continental legal systems.

Please note that this is an article published in German.

Keywords: Interpretation Contract, Pre-Contractual Negotiations

Suggested Citation

Koetz, Hein D., Vorvertragliche Verhandlungen und ihre Bedeutung für die Vertragsauslegung (The Importance of Pre-Contractual Negotiations for the Interpretation of Contracts) (March 15, 2013). Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht (ZEuP), Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 777-788, 2013, Max Planck Private Law Research Paper No. 13/11, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2233899

Hein D. Koetz (Contact Author)

Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law ( email )

Mittelweg 187
Hamburg, D-20148
Germany

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