In what jurisdictions is the severability clause redundant to add in a contract?

Question

The common jurisdictions in United States include the states of Delaware, New York. Is it necessary to include the severability clause in those states? In a country such as South Africa, India, or China, is it redundant to add a severability clause to a contract?

Answer 1

The substantive common law of severability turns, in part, on the intent of the parties. If the contract can carry out the intent of the parties with a particular provision severed, it is severable. If removing the invalid provision would upset the core bargain of the parties and defeat their intent, it is not severed and the entire contract is stricken.

A severability clause exists to clarify the intent of the parties, but is never actually necessary.

Much of Chinese law is its own thing, home grown and outside the Western legal tradition, as applied in practice at least, even when it has a civil law structure to the extent it draws on the Western legal tradition. I wouldn't pretend to know how this issue would play out in Chinese law.

There isn't a strong distinction between Western legal regimes (common law v. civil law, for example) on this point.