...till upphörande vid det kalenderarsskifte

19:25 Feb 27, 2013 

Richard, I read this as the active part -- either side provides notice; the notice period is three months, and and then the clauses are no longer in efffect 'as of' the end of the coming Dec 31 ('as of' the beginning of Jan 1). Otherwise the contract remains in full force ... (at least in regard to this clause)

17:46 Feb 27, 2013 

I translate the commoner expression - end of a month - on the lines of
either party is entitled to give notice of termination of the contract with effect from the end of the month,
or in this case, year.
Then it can be interpreted as the contract ending on the stroke of midnight. As different months end on different dates, you need to avoid that issue with months and quarters!

16:35 Feb 27, 2013 

It's really the notice which expires at that time, so when the termination takes effect cf. zum Jahresende kündigen.

16:17 Feb 27, 2013 

I had the same dilemma when thinking of a solution to this. As I read it, the agreement expires (passively) rather than terminates (actively) following the withdrawal of the parties from the points mentioned. I.e., the agreement expires as a result.

I did think about termination, but just had the idea that this was more an active act of saying, for example "I give notice of termination". Expiry seemed to fit better for me, as it is almost as a result of another action.

I may have misconstrued the context given, however, and you could well be right Deane! What do you think?

16:06 Feb 27, 2013 

I read this as the parties actively ending the contract/clauses here, as in:
'Expiration is the ending of an agreement pursuant to its terms without any action by a party to the agreement. Expiration commonly occurs at the end of a defined period of time' vs.
'Termination is the ending of an agreement as the result of an action taken by a party to the agreement. For example, an agreement may provide that either party may terminate it upon ten days’ written notice'

or is this a British vs. US thing?