Contractual Exclusions and Indemnities of Liability for Negligence
COMMERCIAL ISSUES IN CONTRACT LAW, Greg Tolhurst & Elisabeth Peden, eds., University of Sydney, pp. 7-25, 2008
20 Pages Posted: 23 Jun 2008
Date Written: June 16, 2008
Abstract
This paper will explore the efficacy of contractual exclusions of obligations of care or liability for negligence. It will begin by setting out some fundamental principles of construction of exclusive clauses affecting the tort liability of the parties to the contract. It will then turn to so-called 'secondary rules' of construction relating to exclusions for negligence and their continuing role in the light of the judicial trend to favour more general principles of construction for commercial contracts. It will also consider the impact of case law on the construction of indemnity clauses which in some situations are akin or similar to exclusion clauses.
Keywords: Contract, tort, negligence, indemnities, exclusion clauses, limitation clauses
JEL Classification: K10, K12, K13, K20, K30
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation