Amendment agreement

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For a sober article about the law relating to contractual variation, see amendment.

What is it about amendment agreements that throws our legal colleagues into such a metaphysical loop? We have an agreement, and we have decided to amend it. All agree it is for the best that we write this down.

Let the lexical contortions commence:

Dear old ISDA

From our colleagues in the “Thanks for writing in, ISDA” department.

Compare the following and GUESS WHICH ONE IS FROM PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE AND WHICH ONE WAS IN A STANDARD ISDA AMENDMENT AGREEMENT:

Example 1	Example 2
1. Effectiveness of this Amendment (a) The Annex is amended in accordance with the amendments set forth in this Amendment. References to the Annex will be to the Annex, as amended by this Amendment. (b) These amendments will become effective on the Effective Date, notwithstanding that this Amendment may have been executed before such date.	1. The Future (a) Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. (b) And remember, my friend: future events such as these will affect you in the future.

Makes you glad to be alive, doesn’t it?

Let’s now say we need to amend and restate this amendment. What to do? Can we help ourselves go to town here? No, dear readers, we cannot.

Redline

Clean

1. Effectiveness of this amendment to this Amendment (a) The amended Annex is amended in accordance with the amendments set forth in this amended Amendment the “Amended Amendment”). References to the annexed Annex will be to the annexed Annex, as amended by this Amended Amendment. (b) These annexed amended amendments as annexed hereto and amended hereby will become effective on the amended Effective Date, notwithstanding that this Amended Amendment may have been amended, annexed and, as the case may be, or executed before such annexed amending amendment date (the “Amendment Amendment Date”).

1. Effectiveness of this amendment to this Amendment (a) The amended Annex is amended in accordance with the amendments set forth in this amended Amendment the “Amended Amendment”). References to the annexed Annex will be to the annexed Annex, as amended by this Amended Amendment. (b) These annexed amended amendments as annexed hereto and amended hereby will become effective on the amended Effective Date, notwithstanding that this Amended Amendment may have been amended, annexed and, as the case may be, or executed before such annexed amending amendment date (the “Amendment Amendment Date”).

Other examples

From the THIS IS NOT A DRILL department, another example of a real life amendment agreement (this one from a CDEA, not that that really makes any difference).

To the best of this mediocre lawyer’s comprehension, that concoction boils down to this:

“The parties wish to amend their Agreement on the terms set out in the schedule. The agreement will otherwise continue in full force and effect.”

See also

• Amendment
• Criswell