Contractual interpretation: a study from the point of view of Colombian jurisprudence and the entry into force of the new Consumer protection Statute (NEC) Act 1480 of 2011

Abstract

This article shows that the general principles for engagement in the private law and its interpretation criteria were structured with the assumptions of economic and legal equality between the parties and the freedom of determination of the contract’s content; however, mass production and goods and services consumption has led to a mutation of the contractual structures and has also created the need to appeal to massive forms of contracts that establish standard clauses for the contracting parties. The aim of this research is to formulate new interpretation patterns of these contracts, in order to reconstruct the economic and legal balance of the such contracts.