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HRS §490:1-103

How to read this law and what other laws still apply

This section tells judges to interpret this commercial law broadly to achieve its goals: making business rules simpler, clearer, and more consistent across states. It also says that other general legal principles, like fraud or contract capacity, still apply unless this law specifically overrides them.

businessescourts

The statute, as written — Construction of chapter to promote its purposes and policies; applicability of supplemental principles of law

(a) This chapter shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes and policies, which are: (1) To simplify, clarify, and modernize the law governing commercial transactions; (2) To permit the continued expansion of commercial practices through custom, usage, and agreement of the parties; and (3) To make uniform the law among the various jurisdictions. (b) Unless displaced by the particular provisions of this chapter, the principles of law and equity, including the law merchant and the law relative to capacity to contract, principal and agent, estoppel, fraud, misrepresentation, duress, coercion, mistake, bankruptcy, and other validating or invalidating cause shall supplement its provisions.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.