Notice period

Question

Dear all,I have a discussion about the termination of a contract with following terms:"The rental contract will run until it is terminated by one of the parties giving the other one six months' notice with effect from the end of the calender year"I am not sure this is proper and clear English, as I had discussions with my colleagues about the start of the notice period and the effective end date of the contract.Can someone please explain this sentence, and tell me when notice needs to be given?When does the contract terminate, if notice is given on -- June 15, 2012 ?- Sept 15, 2012 ?I would greatly appreciate the help of a native speaker here!Thanks a lot!

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

I'm not a lawyer.

I read it that the contract will end on 30 June 2013 in both cases.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks Clive.
That's how I see it as well.

Any other thoughts, maybe a lawyer?

KJinCali79 · Answer

The notice period is a requirement to begin the process of termination. This is indicated by the word "by", and would be more clear if a comma followed terminated and another comma followed notice. "With effect from" indicates the point at which that termination actually occurs. With effect from = effective upon (or at) such a date (or time) in the future. Do not think of this literally, in terms of the grammatical sense of the words "with" and "from," for that will cause confusion. This is an idiom, and it is typical of legal documents or formal announcements. Examples of this idiom are in the headings of the following governmental links: Ireland: http://www.lloyds.com/The-Market/Communications/Regulatory-Communications-Homepage/Regulatory-Com... Taiwan: http://www.bli.gov.tw/en/sub.aspx?a=wOY%2BZbCgUUo%3D Global Organization (UK-based): http://www.step.org/news/press_releases/2012/senior_step_appointments.aspx Interpretation: The rental contract will run until it is terminated, by one of the parties giving the other one six months' notice, effective at the end of that calendar year." Take the notice date, add six months, whichever year that date falls into, the termination will take effect at year-end (Dec 31st). Notice Given June 15, 2012 + six months = December 15, 2012 = Termination Date of December 31, 2012. Notice Given September 15, 2012 + six months = March 15, 2013 = Termination Date of December 31, 2013.

KJinCali79 · Answer

The meaning might be better understood, written like this:"The rental contract will run until one of the parties first gives six months' notice to the other, with the termination effective at the end of that calendar year."  That is the meaning of the statement.It is a contract gimmick to lock you into a longer period than the six month notice provision would lead you to believe.

Filip Meeussen · Answer

Yes of course, this would be clear to everybody, leaving no room for interpretation.
Unfortunately, the sentence can not be changed so we are stuck with it.

I have found at least as many people that are convinced about the opposite, so just like on this forum, it stays interpretation against interpretation, so I guess I will see in court what they think!

KJinCali79 · Answer

Best of luck.  I'm pretty certain on my interpretation, which I know differs from others might be saying based on what they see as a grammatical error.   Of course, I am not a lawyer, but as mentioned in another post, I worked for an equipment rental/leasing company for eight years, and I am quite familiar with these type of clauses in contracts.  If you understand "with effect from" to mean "effective at" I think you will find that others also would have my same interpretation.

Notice period

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