What is the Haviltex judgment in Dutch law?

Dutch term: Haviltex-arrest | Legal basis: HR 13 March 1981

The Haviltex judgment (HR 13 March 1981, NJ 1981, 635) is the landmark Dutch Supreme Court ruling that established the standard for contract interpretation under Dutch law. The court held that the meaning of a contractual provision must be determined not by its literal text alone, but by the meaning that the parties could reasonably attribute to the provision in the circumstances.

Relevant circumstances include the nature and purpose of the contract, the negotiation history, the parties' subsequent conduct, their respective expertise, and trade usage. The Haviltex standard applies to most commercial contracts. For standardised terms between sophisticated parties, the Supreme Court later developed a more objective approach in the CAO cases.

Why it matters for international businesses

Haviltex is cited in virtually every Dutch contract interpretation dispute. International businesses contracting under Dutch law should understand that extrinsic evidence carries more weight than in strict parol-evidence jurisdictions.