Andrew Francis examines the risks involved in construing the wording of legal documents
Two recent authorities have demonstrated the risks encountered by clients, advisers and draftsmen when construing the words used in legal documents. In one case, the document containing the crucial words was, at the time of the judgment, just seven days past its 45th birthday. In the other case, the document in question was less than three years old at the time of the judgment at trial and just less than four years old at the time of the judgments delivered by the Court of Appeal.
Both demonstrate the wisdom shown by Humpty Dumpty in Alice Through the Looking-Glass where he said first: “When I use a word...it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” And where he then said: “The question is...which is to be master—that’s all.”
Two cases in search of an answer
In this article, the two cases below will show how the intention of the parties to documents and the principles of construction of the words used in them will depend
