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The Law of Contract, Interpretation and the “Great Object”

Warren Swain

Cambridge Law Journal2026https://doi.org/10.1017/s0008197326101251article
ABDC A*
Weight
0.50

Abstract

In recent debates about the proper approach towards the interpretation of contract terms insufficient attention has been paid to the history of the subject. A close examination of that history shows that there are strong traces of both textual and contextual approaches. The balance between them is not however constant. Opposing factors have pulled in different directions at various times. It is not true to say that before modern times judges were necessarily wedded to the text of contracts. In fact, there is a very prominent seam of contextualism.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/s0008197326101251

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@article{warren2026,
  title        = {{The Law of Contract, Interpretation and the “Great Object”}},
  author       = {Warren Swain},
  journal      = {Cambridge Law Journal},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/s0008197326101251},
}

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The Law of Contract, Interpretation and the “Great Object”

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.