ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the problems of contract interpretation — how the lawyer works out what the words that have been used in the contract actually do mean — if and when there is a dispute. The commercial contract in writing is presumed to be a complete and precise statement of the terms agreed between the parties. The company is automatically expected to know what it is doing when it enters into a contract. The words used in a contract mean what a reasonable person knowing the factual background to the contract, would think that they meant. The word condition can be used in contracts in two ways. First, it can mean one of the terms of the contract. Second, in lawyers' jargon, it can mean a particular type of contract term. The warranty, is a less important promise, a minor term of the contract. An innominate term is neither a condition nor a warranty, but has elements of both.
