Caveat subscriptor: Signed contracts generally bind parties despite misunderstanding, subject to common-law and statutory exceptions

The Latin maxim caveat subscriptor, meaning “let the signer beware”, represents an established principle of South African contract law. In its simplest form, the principle provides that a person who signs a contractual document is ordinarily bound by its terms, irrespective of whether that person subsequently alleges that he or she did not read, understand or appreciate the contents of the agreement. The principle serves an important purpose. Contractual certainty requires parties to be able to rely on agreements that have been reduced to writing and signed. If a party could readily escape contractual obligations by asserting that the agreement…