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
