On 2026-07-28 03:13 PM, Tim Parenti wrote:
On Tue, 28 Jul 2026 at 14:47, Brooks Harris<[email protected]> wrote:
Take, for example, a US Treasury Bill issued in the past. It states a
maturity date in the future in time terms when issued. When does it mature
if the those laws are changed? What, exactly, is the meaning of the
maturity timestamp? (I could be wrong.)
Setting aside that US Treasury Bills mature/settle on a calendar date and
not at a specific time-of-day, a typical long-dated contract which
specifies a time-of-day (such as an insurance policy) could potentially
give rise to a dispute over an hour's difference. That would be a matter
of contract law, the same as it would be in any other jurisdiction. However,
since we're talking about an hour over the life of a contract, the number
of contract claims that this would actually affect in practice (e.g., "did
the storm destroy the roof before or after midnight?") is also likely to be
small, in rough proportion.
None of this is unique to the US, though, and so we needn't invent new
problems. These types of problems exist already, are well-known to members
of this list, and are either solvable and/or judiciable in the same way as
when any other law changes in a way that a contract did not foresee. We
need only do what we can to ensure that these issues are known by those
making decisions, while taking care to remain proportionate in expressing
those concerns.
--
Tim Parenti
Well, you're seeing my concern, partly, it seems. In principle it
shouldn't be a big deal. But I wonder if it isn't a good enough excuse
for exploitive actors to manufacture disputes. But, I agree, it's a
peripheral issue. I think the bigger problem is the technical complexity
we are discussing.
