پژوهشکده حقوق و قانون ایران فصلنامه تحقیق و توسعه در حقوق تطبیقی 2981-1805 7 22 2024 06 21 Examining Instances of Surprising Contractual Terms and the Approach of International Commercial Documents Examining Instances of Surprising Contractual Terms and the Approach of International Commercial Documents 163 186 714256 10.22034/law.2024.2026824.1329 FA Seyed Sina Salimi Master Student in Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran Zahra Sohrabi Abad PhD Student in Faculty of law (Civil Law Section), University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada Journal Article 2024 04 19 Surprising terms are those drafted contrary to the Obligor’s legitimate, normal, and reasonable expectations, which no ordinary person in the position of the accepting party could expect their existence of such terms in the contract. This is because the content, language, or manner of presenting these terms is generally overlooked by the other contracting party, who becomes bound to all the provisions by signing the contract while unaware of the surprising terms contained therein. This article explains the nature, instances, and criteria for identifying surprising contractual terms and aims to answer the following question by analyzing the legal status of these terms from the perspective of international commercial documents: Does the mere apparent acceptance and signing of the contract by the Obligor commits them to these terms? The findings of this study suggest that international commercial documents adopt a similar approach in this regard.<br />The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts have deemed invalid surprising terms incorporated in standard contracts with a feature the other party could not reasonably have expected and were not expressly accepted by the Obligor. Similarly, based on the Principles of European Contract Law, contractual terms that have not been individually negotiated are only admissible against a party who was unaware of them if the citing party took reasonable steps to bring those terms to the other party's attention prior to or at the time of contract formation. The mere inclusion of such terms in the contract text, even if signed by the other party, is insufficient to bind the Obligor to the obligations arising from those terms. Surprising terms are those drafted contrary to the Obligor’s legitimate, normal, and reasonable expectations, which no ordinary person in the position of the accepting party could expect their existence of such terms in the contract. This is because the content, language, or manner of presenting these terms is generally overlooked by the other contracting party, who becomes bound to all the provisions by signing the contract while unaware of the surprising terms contained therein. This article explains the nature, instances, and criteria for identifying surprising contractual terms and aims to answer the following question by analyzing the legal status of these terms from the perspective of international commercial documents: Does the mere apparent acceptance and signing of the contract by the Obligor commits them to these terms? The findings of this study suggest that international commercial documents adopt a similar approach in this regard.<br />The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts have deemed invalid surprising terms incorporated in standard contracts with a feature the other party could not reasonably have expected and were not expressly accepted by the Obligor. Similarly, based on the Principles of European Contract Law, contractual terms that have not been individually negotiated are only admissible against a party who was unaware of them if the citing party took reasonable steps to bring those terms to the other party's attention prior to or at the time of contract formation. The mere inclusion of such terms in the contract text, even if signed by the other party, is insufficient to bind the Obligor to the obligations arising from those terms. https://jcl.illrc.ac.ir/article_714256_d59515de51c0d924ffa166a25844015b.pdf