The Role of Custom In Contract Interpretation: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Custom serves various purposes within the context of contracts, as evidenced by the fact that the contract's content must be carefully stated since this content is decided by the contracting parties' phrases expressing their shared intent. Occasionally, the terms are ambiguous and must be interpreted by the court. Custom is one of the aspects that assist in resolving this uncertainty by showing the meaning of words and acts and their signals of the genuine intents and objectives demonstrated. The contracting parties made extensive use of the text's hints and evidence, but this is without pardon for adhering to the literal look of the term because viewing words as flexible templates would bring out the essence of the meaning they convey. Thus, it is unsurprising that the purpose of the terms varies according to events and conditions. Thus custom is an essential tool for assisting the judge in ascertaining the contractors' true intentions to identify the term's meaning in the contract.