Economic Dislocation and Contract Renegotiation in New Zealand and Japan: A Preliminary Empirical Study

Nottage, Luke R.

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Economic Dislocation and Contract Renegotiation in New Zealand and Japan: A Preliminary Empirical Study

Victoria University of Wellington Law Review, Vol. 27, pp. 59-97, 1997

39 Pages Posted: 7 Nov 2005

See all articles by Luke R. Nottage

Luke R. Nottage

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law; The University of Sydney - Australian Network for Japanese Law; University of Wollongong

Abstract

This article mainly reports on preliminary results from a survey of law and business students in New Zealand and Japan regarding their attitudes towards renegotiation of long-term contracts in cases of extreme economic dislocation. Contrary to those positing a much more lenient attitude towards contract renegotiation in Japan, there are no statistically significant differences with New Zealand respondents. Other similarities are a more lenient attitude on the part of law as opposed to business students, and female as opposed to male students. However, New Zealand respondents are somewhat more nationalistic (or less inter-subjective) than their Japanese counterparts.

From this vantage point, the article then suggests that the strict Anglo-New Zealand approach to frustration of contract should be revisited, allowing for duties of good faith negotiation and/or court adjustment as argued for and occasionally permitted under Japanese (and US) law.

Keywords: contract law, Japan, New Zealand

JEL Classification: K12

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Nottage, Luke R., Economic Dislocation and Contract Renegotiation in New Zealand and Japan: A Preliminary Empirical Study. Victoria University of Wellington Law Review, Vol. 27, pp. 59-97, 1997, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=839044