The judgment of Wallis JA in the Endumeni case has been highly influential in setting out what is today the ‘proper approach’ to the interpretation of legal documents, including contracts. It marks a shift from an overly literal approach to interpretation, focused primarily on the language of the text, with recourse to extrinsic evidence permitted only in limited circumstances where there is ambiguity, to a more expansive, ‘unitary’ approach in terms of which, from the very outset, the court is required to have regard to the text, the context and the purpose of the provision, even if the words appear clear and unambiguous. This new approach, which leaves a considerably diminished role for the parol evidence rule, has been consistently approved and applied in subsequent cases, including by the Constitutional Court.

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