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Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Schedule 2: Minor amendments to clarify Parliament’s intent or reconcile inconsistencies

You could also call this:

“Small fixes to make laws clearer and work better together”

This schedule lists changes made to various laws to make them clearer or fix inconsistencies. Here’s what the changes do:

Some changes make the laws apply to more situations. For example, one change makes a rule about selling goods apply to carriers by air, not just land and water. Another change makes rules about court guidelines apply to more types of official bodies.

Other changes update the language to be more modern or accurate. For instance, a rule about selling things to people who can’t make contracts now talks about people who are “intoxicated” instead of “drunk”. Another change replaces “trustee in bankruptcy” with “Official Assignee or liquidator”.

Some changes make the laws work better with newer laws. For example, one change makes sure the definition of “information technology” matches what’s in the Electronic Transactions Act 2002. Another change updates rules about landing goods to match the Customs and Excise Act 1996.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844793.

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Schedule 1: Transitional, savings, and related provisions, or

"How the new law works with old contracts and legal stuff"

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Schedule 3: Comparative table, or

"A list that shows how old laws became part of the new law"

2Minor amendments to clarify Parliament’s intent or reconcile inconsistencies Empowered by s 4(2)

The following table is medium in size and has 3 columns. Column 1 is headed Provision of this Act, column 2 is headed Provision of revised Act, and column 3 is headed Nature of intended change.
Provision of this Act Provision of revised Act Nature of intended change
Section 9(2) Section 6(2)(d) of the Illegal Contracts Act 1970; section 8(3) of the Contractual Mistakes Act 1977 The provision relating to when matters are treated as having been released or surrendered for the purposes of paragraph (d) of the definition of disposition is extended to cover a contract, power, or thing in action.
Section 16(1)(b) Section 7(1)(b) of the Contracts (Privity) Act 1982 The provision relating to uncertainty about whether a variation or discharge is prevented is extended to cover an obligation (as well as a promise).
Sections 25 and 26 Section 6(2) of the Contractual Mistakes Act 1977 The provisions are clarified as applying for the purposes of relief (regardless of whether the relief is granted in the course of any proceeding or on an application made for the purpose).
Sections 28(3), 76(4), and 95(3) Section 7(5) of the Contractual Mistakes Act 1977; section 7(5) of the Illegal Contracts Act 1970; section 7(2) of the Minors’ Contracts Act 1969 The provisions relating to court orders concerning property are clarified to provide for orders to relate to the whole or any part of the property and for directions to deliver possession of the property to any other party to the proceeding.
Section 124(2) Section 4(1) of the Sale of Goods Act 1908 The provision about the sale of necessaries to a person who is incompetent to contract is amended to refer to a person who is incompetent to contract by reason of intoxication (rather than drunkenness).
Section 179 Section 46(1) of the Sale of Goods Act 1908 The provision about the duration of transit is extended to refer to carriers by air (as well as carriers by land or water).
Section 195(3)(a) Section 54(1)(a) of the Sale of Goods Act 1908 The provision about a remedy for a breach of warranty is clarified to allow the buyer to rely on the breach to obtain a reduction in, or the satisfaction of, the price.
Section 218(2)(e) Section 14(2)(e) of the Electronic Transactions Act 2002 The provision about guidelines issued by a court or tribunal is extended to refer to other bodies specified in Part 4 of Schedule 5.
Section 290 Section 25(2) of the Carriage of Goods Act 1979 The provision is amended to refer to expenses reasonably incurred in arranging and conducting sale, and to paying the balance to the owner of the goods, to be consistent with other references to the ability to deduct expenses.
Sections 296, 312, 325, and 341 Sections 2, 13, and 21 of the Mercantile Law Act 1908 and section 3 of the Wages Protection and Contractors' Liens Act Repeal Act 1987 A consistent definition of goods is included.
Section 308(2) and (3) Section 11(b) of the Mercantile Law Act 1908 The provision about the owner’s rights is amended to refer to the Official Assignee or a liquidator (rather than a trustee in bankruptcy).
Section 312 Section 13(1) of the Mercantile Law Act 1908 The definition of information technology is aligned with concepts in the Electronic Transactions Act 2002.
Section 321 Section 14 of the Mercantile Law Act 1908 The provision about rights not being affected is expressly made subject to section 306 (the equivalent of section 9 of the Mercantile Law Act 1908).
Section 325(1) Section 21 of the Mercantile Law Act 1908 The definitions of entry and report have been amended for consistency with the Customs and Excise Act 1996.
Section 327(2) Section 22(d) of the Mercantile Law Act 1908 The provision about where dutiable goods may be landed is amended to refer to requirements imposed by or under the Customs and Excise Act 1996.
Section 336(3) Section 27 of the Mercantile Law Act 1908 The provision about a wharf owner or warehouse owner selling goods by public auction is amended to clarify that the sale may be at any time after the expiry of 90 days (rather than at the expiry of 90 days).