Provisions the documents cite: s.1(1) and (3) (negligence; business liability), s.2 (negligence liability), s.3 (liability arising in contract on written standard terms), s.11 (the reasonableness test), s.13 (varieties of exemption clause), Schedule 2 (guidelines)
What it requires
Part I applies to business liability — liability for things done in the course of a business or from the occupation of business premises (s.1(3)). A person cannot by a contract term or notice exclude or restrict liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence; for other loss or damage caused by negligence, exclusion or restriction is effective only so far as the term or notice satisfies the requirement of reasonableness; agreeing to or knowing of such a term does not of itself mean voluntary acceptance of the risk (s.2(1)–(3)). Where one party deals on the other's written standard terms of business, the other cannot, except so far as the term is reasonable, exclude or restrict its liability for its own breach, or claim to render a performance substantially different from what was reasonably expected, or no performance at all (s.3). A contract term is reasonable if it was fair and reasonable to include having regard to the circumstances known to or in the contemplation of the parties when the contract was made (s.11(1)); where liability is limited to a specified sum, regard is had in particular to the resources available to meet the liability and how far insurance cover was open (s.11(4)); and it is for the party claiming that a term is reasonable to show it (s.11(5)). The Act also catches terms that make liability subject to restrictive or onerous conditions, exclude rights or remedies, or exclude rules of evidence or procedure, but an agreement in writing to refer disputes to arbitration is not an exclusion (s.13). Schedule 2 lists matters — relative bargaining strength, any inducement to agree, whether the customer knew or ought to have known of the term, whether compliance with a condition was practicable, and whether goods were made to special order — which s.11(2) applies to the goods provisions in ss.6 and 7. ss.2 and 3 do not apply to a consumer contract or consumer notice, for which the Consumer Rights Act 2015 ss.62 and 65 apply instead (ss.2(4), 3(3)).
The instrument itself: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/50. The summary above is our plain-English reading, not the text of the instrument — always work from the source.
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The 2 documents that cite it
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