Contract Language

A Contract Language is a legal language for legal contracts.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) be an Language-Specific Contract Language, such as: English contract language, and Japanese contract language.
  • It can (often) be a Jurisdiction-Specific Contract Language, such as: U.S. contract language, U.K. contract language, European Union contract language.
  • ...
  • It can range from (typically) being Written contract language (for written contracts) to being Oral Contract Language,
  • It can range from being an Industry-Specific Contract Language (e.g. construction contract language) to being a General Contract Language]].
  • It can range from using Formal Contract Language ("whereas", "notwithstanding") to being Plain-Language Contract Language.
  • It can range from being a Contract Word, Contract Phrase, Contract Sentence, Contract Provision, Contract Passage, Contract Paragraph, Contract Clause, Contract Section, Entire Contract.
  • ...
  • It can include specialized Legal Contract Vocabulary.
  • It can include specialized Legal Clause Wording.
  • It can utilize Standard Contract Phrasing, common templated contract clauses.
  • …
• Example(s):
  • Legal Contract Sentence: "The party of the first part shall indemnify and hold harmless the party of the second part against all claims, losses, or damages..." - This sentence uses legal terminology and phrases, such as "party of the first part", "indemnify", and "hold harmless" that are common in Legal English but rarely used in everyday English.
  • Legal Notwithstanding Clause: "Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein..." - The use of the term "notwithstanding" and the phrase "contained herein" is typical in Legal English, but these are not terms commonly used in ordinary English.
  • Construction Contract Language: "The contractor shall provide all labor, materials, equipment, and services necessary to perform the work as detailed in Exhibit A, in accordance with the drawings and specifications." - This sentence illustrates industry-specific language used in construction contracts.
  • Technology Contract Language: "Licensee may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software, except and only to the extent that it is expressly permitted by applicable law." - This sentence represents language that is specific to technology contracts.
  • Jurisdiction-Specific Contract Language: "This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of laws principles." - This example shows language that refers to a specific jurisdiction's laws.
  • Format-Specific Contract Language: "This electronic agreement (e-Agreement) represents the complete understanding between the parties and supersedes all prior understandings and documents relating to this subject matter." - This sentence illustrates a format-specific contract language that is applied to electronic contracts.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • An Informal Verbal Agreement Language.
  • A Litigation Legal Language.
  • A Corporate Communications Language.
• See: Contractual Obligation, Contract Law, Contract Content-based Policy Rule, Controlled Contract Language.

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References

2023

• (Salmon, 2023) ⇒ S. Salmon. (2023). “The (Not Too Serious) Grammar, Punctuation, and Style Guide to Legal Writing.” In: journals.librarypublishing.arizona. [Optional URL or DOI]
  • QUOTE: “In another example, passive voice in a contract created … Clinging to AP Style Guide advice about the serial comma?… long-time legal-writing professor she is—she has taught law …”
  • NOTE: It provides insights into the grammar, punctuation, and style of legal writing, including specific examples of passive voice in contracts and a focus on the serial comma in the AP Style Guide.

2022

• https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ecm/10.1.0?topic=components-overview-contract-language
  • QUOTE: The contract language consists of clauses, terms, lines, line definitions and the formatting, and any pre-execution attachments. You can modify the language only when the contract is in the Draft or In Negotiation status.

2018

• (Finnegan, 2018) ⇒ Milva Finnegan. (2018). “From a Natural Language to a Controlled Contract Language.” Jusletter IT May 24
  • ABSTRACT: Readability of contracts is a challenge. Over time a natural set of traditional words and writing style has developed. A controlled language is derived from a natural language and usually consists of a dictionary and a set of writing rules in a controlled document. This article introduces the idea of a controlled contract language for contract drafting. The comparative model examined is ASD-100STE, used in the aerospace industry for writing technical manuals. ASD-100STE’s goal is to enhance document readability to assure comprehension across all writers and users.

2016

• (Champion et al., 2016) ⇒ A. Champion, A. Gurfinkel, T. Kahsai, and C. Tinelli. (2016). “CoCoSpec: A mode-aware contract language for reactive systems." In: International Conference on Tools and Algorithms for the Construction and Analysis of Systems.
  • NOTE: It introduces CoCoSpec, a specialized contract language designed for modeling and analysis of reactive systems.

2014

• (Johnson, 2014) ⇒ L.D. Johnson. (2014). “Say the Magic Word: A Rhetorical Analysis of Contract Drafting Choices.” In: Syracuse L. Rev. [HeinOnline](#)
  • QUOTE: “2 approach to contract drafting, you also open a newly-published drafting style guide. You … the number of law schools offering dedicated courses in contract or transactional drafting …”
  • NOTE: It explores the rhetorical analysis of contract drafting choices, including the use of newly-published drafting style guides and the increase in law schools offering specialized courses in contract or transactional drafting.

2009

• (Triebel, 2009) ⇒ V. Triebel. (2009). “Pitfalls of English as a contract language." In: Translation issues in language and law. Springer.
  • NOTE: It highlights the challenges and implications of using English as the international contract language.

2006

• (Governatori & Milosevic, 2006) ⇒ G. Governatori, and Z. Milosevic. (2006). “A formal analysis of a business contract language." In: International Journal of Cooperative Information Systems. World Scientific.
  • NOTE: It presents a detailed formal analysis of Business Contract Language (BCL), referred to as formal contract language (FCL), used in business contract specifications.

2004

• (Linington et al., 2004) ⇒ P.F. Linington, Z. Milosevic, J. Cole, S. Gibson, and others. (2004). “A unified behavioural model and a contract language for extended enterprise." In: Data & Knowledge Engineering. Elsevier.
  • NOTE: It proposes a unified behavioral model and a contract language tailored for extended enterprises, discussing the development and application of the business contract language (BCL).

1986

• (Gifford, 1986) ⇒ Z. Gifford. (1986). “Myths and Realities of Contract Technical Writing.” In: Proceedings of the 5th Annual International Conference. [dl.acm.org](#)
  • QUOTE: “Let me talk about some of the myths in contract writing and let me … The amusing truth as you read one style guide and then … Each corporate style guide talks about audience level, using …”
  • NOTE: It discusses the myths and realities of contract technical writing, highlighting contradictions between different corporate style guides and offering a humorous perspective on the subject.

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