Legal
Issue No. 10 - April/May 2003
Its not all in the Fine Print
by Michael Hegarty
Just about everyone has heard of some legal case that was decided "on a technicality." Sometimes such cases involve the interpretation of documents. Traditionally, legal documents were drafted in language so obtuse and impenetrable that even the judges had trouble understanding them. It's no wonder that disputes often arose as to the meaning and effect of legal documents.
These days, lawyers who want to provide a good service to their clients strive to ensure that the documents they prepare are written in "plain English"-language that can be understood by the people who have to sign them. It makes sense for the parties to an agreement to understand what they are getting into before they sign the document, rather than at the end of a long and expensive trial. Although disputes can still arise, they should occur less often.
How does a Court go about interpreting a legal document? The first guiding principle is that the document is assumed to express the intentions shared by the parties, and so the Court must construe the words actually used. Second, the Court will construe the words in their ordinary and natural meaning. Third, the meaning of the words must be considered in the context of the whole document. Fourth, a word will be assumed to have the same meaning each time it is used in a document. Finally, a Court will interpret a document in the light of the factual context in which it was created. The Court will go beyond the language used and consider what the parties appear to have intended, in the light of the factual background of the document.
Context and clarity
The importance of context is highlighted by some recent cases I have encountered.
The first case involved the Constitution of an Incorporated Association. A Constitution sets out the rules agreed between the members of the Association. Those rules regulate the interaction between the members in running the Association. The argument arose from a misu...
