Integrationsklausulen - Avtalsrättslig och processrättslig rättsverkan
(2013) JURM02 20131Department of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Integrationsklausuler härstammar ursprungligen från den angloamerikanska rätten, men återfinns även i svenska kommersiella avtal, främst i avtal om företagsöverlåtelser. Integrationsklausulen syftar till att avtalet ska utgöra en fullständig reglering av parternas mellanhavanden. Den avser därmed att utesluta bevis om utfästelser och åtaganden som föregått avtalslutet och som saknar grund i det skriftliga avtalet. Integrationsklausulen ger uttryck för parternas avtalsfrihet, en grundläggande princip inom svensk rätt. En principkollision kan uppstå mellan parternas avtalsfrihet å ena sidan och avtalsrättsliga och processrättsliga regler och principer å andra sidan. Denna uppsats avser att diskutera dessa principkollisioner.
Enligt den... (More) - Integrationsklausuler härstammar ursprungligen från den angloamerikanska rätten, men återfinns även i svenska kommersiella avtal, främst i avtal om företagsöverlåtelser. Integrationsklausulen syftar till att avtalet ska utgöra en fullständig reglering av parternas mellanhavanden. Den avser därmed att utesluta bevis om utfästelser och åtaganden som föregått avtalslutet och som saknar grund i det skriftliga avtalet. Integrationsklausulen ger uttryck för parternas avtalsfrihet, en grundläggande princip inom svensk rätt. En principkollision kan uppstå mellan parternas avtalsfrihet å ena sidan och avtalsrättsliga och processrättsliga regler och principer å andra sidan. Denna uppsats avser att diskutera dessa principkollisioner.
Enligt den svenska tolkningsläran ska vid en tolkning av ett tvistigt avtal hänsyn tas till alla förekommande relevanta omständigheter. Tolkningen ska således inte bara ske inom avtalets fyra hörn. Integrationsklausulen föreskriver därmed en annan tolkning av avtalet än vad som följer av svensk avtalsrätt. I uppsatsen diskuteras hur integrationsklausulen kan komma att tolkas enligt den svenska tolkningsläran i de fall den förekommer i ett svenskt kommersiellt avtal. Kan klausulen inte tolkas enligt de regler den själv stipulerar, måste den tolkas enligt den svenska tolkningsläran. Den gemensamma partsavsikten kommer troligtvis att vara avgörande för tolkningen. Avsåg parterna att integrationsklausulen skulle tillämpas fullt ut, borde en domstol beakta detta. Anses klausulen utgöra ett allmänt villkor måste den inkorporeras i avtalet för att utgöra avtalsinnehåll.
Om integrationsklausulen efter en tolkning fastställs få den rättsverkan som dess lydelse ger uttryck för, uppstår frågan hur avtalet i övrigt bör tolkas. Avtalets lydelse har stor betydelse för att fastställa ett tvistigt avtals innehåll. Lydelsens betydelse kommer förmodligen genom integrationsklausulen att förstärkas. Det kan också tänkas att en domstol skulle vara mer försiktig att tillmäta avtalspreliminärer betydelse vid tolkningen, men om den helt skulle bortse från dessa kan diskuteras. Integrationsklausulen borde inte hindra en utfyllning av avtalet.
Då integrationsklausulen avser att utesluta bevis om omständigheter som föregått avtalsslutet, kan den komma att strida mot principerna om fri bevisvärdering, fri bevisföring och jura novit curia. I uppsatsen diskuteras att integrationsklausulen inte borde kunna avvisas enbart på grund av den fria bevisvärderingen och jura novit curia. Däremot kan integrationsklausulen förhindras av den fria bevisföringen och den omtvistade principen om processavtals ogiltighet. Det sistnämnda förutsätter att processavtal anses vara ogiltiga och att integrationsklausulen ses som en processuell överenskommelse. (Less) - Abstract
- The entire agreement clause originates in the Anglo-American law, but it is also to be found in Swedish commercial contracts, primarily in contracts on mergers and acquisitions. The entire agreement clause aims to constitute the entire agreement between the parties. Consequently the clause intends to exclude evidence on prior representations and undertakings not made explicit in the written document. The entire agreement clause expresses the principle of freedom of contract, which is a constitutive principle of Swedish law. A conflict may arise between the principle of freedom of contract on the one hand, and Swedish principles of interpretation and Swedish procedural law on the other hand. This thesis intends to investigate these... (More)
- The entire agreement clause originates in the Anglo-American law, but it is also to be found in Swedish commercial contracts, primarily in contracts on mergers and acquisitions. The entire agreement clause aims to constitute the entire agreement between the parties. Consequently the clause intends to exclude evidence on prior representations and undertakings not made explicit in the written document. The entire agreement clause expresses the principle of freedom of contract, which is a constitutive principle of Swedish law. A conflict may arise between the principle of freedom of contract on the one hand, and Swedish principles of interpretation and Swedish procedural law on the other hand. This thesis intends to investigate these principle conflicts.
According to Swedish principles of interpretation all relevant circumstances are to be considered in the interpretation of a disputed contract. Hence, the contract should not be interpreted only within the four corners of the contract. So the entire agreement clause stipulates principles of interpretation, that do not comply with Swedish principles of interpretation. The thesis discusses how the entire agreement clause, present in a commercial contract, may be interpreted under Swedish principles of interpretation. As the clause may not be interpreted according to rules stipulated by the clause itself, it has to be interpreted under Swedish principles of interpretation. The intention of the parties is likely to be decisive for the interpretation of the entire agreement clause. In case the intention of the parties was to give the clause full legal effect, then it ought to be the case that the court take this onto account. If the clause is considered to be a standard term, then it must be incorporated into the contract in order to form part of the contract.
After the entire agreement clause is decided to have full legal effect then the remaining contract must be interpreted. The wording is of great importance in establishing the content of the disputed contract. The importance of the wording is presumably to be strengthened by the entire agreement clause. It is also probable that the court would be cautious in taking regard to prior circumstances while interpreting the contract, but if such circumstances would be entirely neglected by the court, is debatable. It should not be the case that the entire agreement clause can prevent implication of terms to fill gaps in the contract.
Since the entire agreement clause intends to exclude evidence on prior representations and undertakings it may conflict with the principles of freedom of evidence, freedom to adduce evidence and the jura novit curia. It is argued that the entire agreement clause should not be rejected purely because of the principles of freedom of evidence and the jura novit curia. However the clause may be inadmissible because of the freedom to adduce evidence and the disputed principle of invalidity of procedural agreements. The latter presupposes that procedural agreements are regarded invalid and that the entire agreement clause is considered to be a procedural agreement. (Less)
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http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/3800203
- author
- Stoltenberg-Hansen, Sara LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- The entire agreement clause - Contractual and procedural legal effects
- course
- JURM02 20131
- year
- 2013
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- avtalsrätt förmögenhetsrätt processrätt integrationsklausul
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 3800203
- date added to LUP
- 2013-06-13 15:15:29
- date last changed
- 2013-06-13 15:15:29
@misc{3800203,
abstract = {{The entire agreement clause originates in the Anglo-American law, but it is also to be found in Swedish commercial contracts, primarily in contracts on mergers and acquisitions. The entire agreement clause aims to constitute the entire agreement between the parties. Consequently the clause intends to exclude evidence on prior representations and undertakings not made explicit in the written document. The entire agreement clause expresses the principle of freedom of contract, which is a constitutive principle of Swedish law. A conflict may arise between the principle of freedom of contract on the one hand, and Swedish principles of interpretation and Swedish procedural law on the other hand. This thesis intends to investigate these principle conflicts.
According to Swedish principles of interpretation all relevant circumstances are to be considered in the interpretation of a disputed contract. Hence, the contract should not be interpreted only within the four corners of the contract. So the entire agreement clause stipulates principles of interpretation, that do not comply with Swedish principles of interpretation. The thesis discusses how the entire agreement clause, present in a commercial contract, may be interpreted under Swedish principles of interpretation. As the clause may not be interpreted according to rules stipulated by the clause itself, it has to be interpreted under Swedish principles of interpretation. The intention of the parties is likely to be decisive for the interpretation of the entire agreement clause. In case the intention of the parties was to give the clause full legal effect, then it ought to be the case that the court take this onto account. If the clause is considered to be a standard term, then it must be incorporated into the contract in order to form part of the contract.
After the entire agreement clause is decided to have full legal effect then the remaining contract must be interpreted. The wording is of great importance in establishing the content of the disputed contract. The importance of the wording is presumably to be strengthened by the entire agreement clause. It is also probable that the court would be cautious in taking regard to prior circumstances while interpreting the contract, but if such circumstances would be entirely neglected by the court, is debatable. It should not be the case that the entire agreement clause can prevent implication of terms to fill gaps in the contract.
Since the entire agreement clause intends to exclude evidence on prior representations and undertakings it may conflict with the principles of freedom of evidence, freedom to adduce evidence and the jura novit curia. It is argued that the entire agreement clause should not be rejected purely because of the principles of freedom of evidence and the jura novit curia. However the clause may be inadmissible because of the freedom to adduce evidence and the disputed principle of invalidity of procedural agreements. The latter presupposes that procedural agreements are regarded invalid and that the entire agreement clause is considered to be a procedural agreement.}},
author = {{Stoltenberg-Hansen, Sara}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Integrationsklausulen - Avtalsrättslig och processrättslig rättsverkan}},
year = {{2013}},
}