Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Contracts legislation

9: Interpretation

You could also call this:

“Explaining important words used in this part of the law”

This section explains some important words used in this part of the law.

A ‘court’ usually means any place where a decision is made about a case. But in one part of this law, it has a special meaning that you can find in section 85.

A ‘disposition’ is a word that covers many ways of giving away or changing who owns something. It can mean:

  • Giving something to someone else, like money or property
  • Creating a trust, which is a special way of looking after money or property for someone
  • Letting someone use your property or giving them rights to it
  • Giving up your rights to something, like forgiving a debt or cancelling a contract
  • Using your power to give something to someone
  • Doing something that makes your own things worth less and someone else’s things worth more

The law also says that if you can’t get back money you’re owed or can’t make someone do what they promised in a contract because too much time has passed, it’s treated the same as if you’d given up your rights to it.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844046.


Previous

8: Act binds the Crown, or

"The government must follow most of this law, with a few exceptions"


Next

10: Purpose, or

"This part explains how you can benefit from promises made in legal documents even if you didn't sign them"

Part 2 Contracts legislation

9Interpretation

  1. In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,—

    court

    1. means, in relation to any matter, the court, tribunal, or arbitral tribunal by or before which the matter falls to be determined; but
      1. in subpart 6, has the meaning set out in section 85

        disposition means—

        1. a conveyance, transfer, assignment, settlement, delivery, payment, or other alienation of property, whether at law or in equity:
          1. the creation of a trust:
            1. the grant or creation of any lease, mortgage, charge, servitude, licence, power, or other right, estate, or interest in or over any property, whether at law or in equity:
              1. the release, discharge, surrender, forfeiture, or abandonment, at law or in equity, of any debt, contract, or thing in action, or of any right, power, estate, or interest in or over any property:
                1. the exercise of a general power of appointment in favour of any person other than the donee of the power:
                  1. a transaction that a person enters into with intent to diminish, directly or indirectly, the value of the person’s own estate and to increase the value of the estate of any other person.

                  2. For the purpose of paragraph (d) of the definition of disposition, a debt, contract, or thing in action, or a right, power, estate, or interest in or over any property, must be treated as having been released or surrendered when it has become irrecoverable or unenforceable through the lapse of time.

                  Compare