Severability clause

A clause in a contract that allows for the terms of the contract to be independent of one another, so that if a term in the contract is deemed unenforceable by a court, the contract as a whole will not be deemed unenforceable. If there were no severability clause in a contract, a whole contract could be deemed unenforceable because of one unenforceable term.

Also known as a "severability clause" or a "savings clause".

Investopedia Says:
A contract with a severability clause is essentially one contract divided into many different parts: default on one component of the contract does not prevent the rest of the contract from being fulfilled. If a sentence, clause or term in a contract is deemed invalid by a court, then this problem area of the contract will most often be rewritten to fit both the contract's original intent and the requirements of the court.

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In a statute, an exception of a special item out of the general things mentioned in the statute. A restriction in a repealing act, which is intended to save rights, while proceedings are pending, from the obliteration that would result from an unrestricted repeal. The provision in a statute, sometimes referred to as the severability clause, that rescues the balance of the statute from a declaration of unconstitutionality if one or more parts are invalidated.

With respect to existing rights, a saving clause enables the repealed law to continue in force.

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Severability. (Discuss)

The severability clause (sometimes referred to as a salvatorius clause, from the Latin word salvatorius) is the name for a clause that regulates the legal consequences or the applicability of the remaining clauses of a contract when some clauses of a contract are or become ineffective or infeasible. The goal of the severability clause is usually to maintain the spirit of the contract as much as possible.

Severability clauses are sometimes used in statutes, to preserve the effectiveness of certain portions of the statute if some part is struck down as unconstitutional by a court exercising in judicial review.

Sample clause

"If a provision of this Agreement is or becomes illegal, invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, that shall not affect:

1. the validity or enforceability in that jurisdiction of any other provision of this Agreement; or
2. the validity or enforceability in other jurisdictions of that or any other provision of this Agreement."

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