Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
CONSTRUING CONTRACTS WITH MISTAKES IN THEM
The Starsin
Anyone in commercial practice has come across contracts with mistakes in them. We are all human and people sometimes make mistakes. Our law requires contracts to be interpreted objectively. So when we have to interpret a contract in which a mistake may have been made we cannot ask the parties whether they have made a mistake and if so what it is. We have to do the best we can with what we have.
One category of case is where the whole debate between the parties is whether a mistake has been made in the drafting. In Mannai Investment Co. Ltd
v. Eagle Star Life Assurance Co. Ltd
1
what divided the House of Lords was whether it was obvious to the recipient of a notice that the 12th in fact was an error for 13th. The majority decided that
CASE AND COMMENT
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