The whole instrument is to be viewed and compared in all its parts, so that every part of it may be made consistent and effectual.

Explanation

(English-origin maxim.) Every part of an instrument must be compared with every other part so that no clause is rendered inconsistent, superfluous, or void — the whole must be read as a harmonious unit.

Where this applies

• A partnership agreement has a profit-sharing clause that seems to conflict with a later buyout clause, so the court reads both together to make them consistent rather than throwing one out.
• A constitution grants free speech in one article and regulates public safety in another — both provisions must be read as parts of a harmonious whole, not as contradictions.
• A lease has an early-termination clause and a penalty clause that seem to say different things, so the court compares them and finds a reading where both operate without conflict.