In disputes, both your contracts and the local legislation and general practices are taken into account. The order of interpretation is usually as follows.
- Mandatory legal provisions (e.g. criminal law regulations)
- Your contract with terms and conditions. The contract can also be considered to have been formed through negotiations, even if there is no official framework agreement etc. The contract itself can specify which terms or appendices take precedence. The quote and its terms can also be included in the order of interpretation here.
- Trade practice or other industry practice. The practice can be established either in a certain field or, for example, in a customer relationship. A certain way of doing business has been established and if neither party has protested, it has become the norm.
- Legal provisions that are not binding.
In a dispute, agreements and contracts play a huge role, as do the facts you can prove.
A practical example of an established practice in a customer relationship:
If the customer always pays, say, a month late and the supplier doesn’t send a reminder for the late payment but accepts it silently, then the practice can be considered a standard, binding practice. So if the supplier suddenly demands 14 day payment, the customer can refer to the previous practice and continue to adhere to the longer terms of payment. Of course, a silent contract stemming from previous practice also applies the other way around, so if a client suddenly tries to change their behavior, the translator can refer to the previous practice and the resulting silent contract.
