Investors Compensation Scheme Ltd v West Bromwich Building Society
E655792
Investors Compensation Scheme Ltd v West Bromwich Building Society is a landmark 1998 House of Lords decision in English contract law, best known for Lord Hoffmann’s influential restatement of the principles of contractual interpretation.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
English contract law case
ⓘ
House of Lords decision ⓘ United Kingdom Supreme Court precedent ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
interpretation of commercial contracts
ⓘ
interpretation of consumer contracts ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
contract law
ⓘ
interpretation of contracts ⓘ |
| citation |
[1998] 1 All ER 98
ⓘ
[1998] 1 WLR 896 ⓘ |
| claimant | Investors Compensation Scheme Ltd NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| court | House of Lords NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| decidedIn | United Kingdom House of Lords NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| decisionDateApprox | June 1997 ⓘ |
| decisionYear | 1998 ⓘ |
| defendant | West Bromwich Building Society NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| famousFor |
Lord Hoffmann’s restatement of the principles of contractual interpretation
ⓘ
five principles of contractual interpretation ⓘ |
| holding |
background or matrix of fact is admissible to aid interpretation
ⓘ
contractual documents are interpreted according to what a reasonable person with all background knowledge would have understood ⓘ courts aim to ascertain the objective intentions of the parties ⓘ meaning of a document is not the same as the literal meaning of its words ⓘ previous negotiations are generally inadmissible for interpretation ⓘ |
| involvedEntity |
Investors Compensation Scheme Ltd
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
West Bromwich Building Society NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| judge |
Lord Clyde
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Lord Goff of Chieveley NERFINISHED ⓘ Lord Hoffmann NERFINISHED ⓘ Lord Lloyd of Berwick NERFINISHED ⓘ Lord Steyn NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | England and Wales ⓘ |
| leadingJudge | Lord Hoffmann NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
construction of written terms
ⓘ
objective approach to contractual meaning ⓘ principles of contractual interpretation ⓘ role of prior negotiations in interpretation ⓘ use of background or matrix of fact ⓘ |
| legalPrinciple |
contextual approach to interpretation
ⓘ
exclusion of subjective intentions ⓘ objective theory of contract ⓘ |
| reporter |
All England Law Reports
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Weekly Law Reports NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| status | leading authority on contractual interpretation in English law ⓘ |
| subsequentInfluence |
Arnold v Britton
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Chartbrook Ltd v Persimmon Homes Ltd NERFINISHED ⓘ Prenn v Simmonds NERFINISHED ⓘ Rainy Sky SA v Kookmin Bank NERFINISHED ⓘ Wood v Capita Insurance Services Ltd NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.