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United Kingdom certainty of termsinterpretation

WN Hillas & Co Ltd v Arcos Ltd

(1932) 147 LT 503; [1932] UKHL 2
JurisdictionUnited Kingdom
CourtHouse of Lords
Year1932
StatusBinding authority

Key Principle

A commercial agreement is not void for uncertainty or incompleteness where its terms, read against the background of the parties' prior dealings and the customs of the relevant trade, can be given a sufficiently certain meaning so as to preserve and give effect to the bargain.

Area of Law

General case law

Related Cases

Cheltenham BC v Laird [2009] EWHC 1253 (QB); [2009] IRLR 621
Cukurova Finance International Ltd v Alfa Telecom Turkey Ltd [2009] UKPC 19
Transfield Shipping Inc v Mercator Shipping Inc [2008] UKHL 48; [2009] 1 AC 61

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