Assessing the Content of Contracts: Implied Terms from a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The doctrine of implied terms is a useful device used by English courts to fill gaps that may have been left in a written contract. French law has not identified a similar doctrine and the process of implication mostly operates on the basis of statutes, equitable considerations, or through a distortion of the principles of interpretation. Therefore, introducing the concept of implied terms in French law could help to solve some inconsistencies and be an opportunity to establish clearer divisions between interpretation and incorporation of clauses, thereby bringing more certainty and transparency to this judicial practice concerned with the assessment of the content of contracts.