What Is the Agreement Reached Known as

In the United States, an unusual type of unenforceable contract is a personal employment contract to work as a spy or secret agent. Indeed, the secrecy of the contract is a condition of the contract (to maintain plausible deniability). If the spy subsequently sues the government for the contract on issues such as salary or benefits, then the spy has broken the contract by revealing its existence. It is therefore unenforceable for this reason, as is the public policy of maintaining national security (since a disgruntled agent could attempt to expose all the secrets of the government at trial). [119] Other types of unenforceable employment contracts include contracts that agree to work for less than minimum wage and, in cases where workers` compensation is due, lose the right to workers` compensation. Prior to 1871, the U.S. government regularly entered into treaties with Native Americans, but the Indian Appropriations Act of March 3, 1871 (chap. 120, 16 stat. 563) had tied up a horseman (25 U.S.C. § 71) who effectively terminated the president`s contract by providing that no Native American nation or tribe could be recognized as an independent nation, tribe, or power, with which the United States may enter into contractual contracts. After 1871, the federal government continued to establish similar contractual relationships with Indian tribes through agreements, laws, and decrees. [30] The word also has a verbal meaning: “to commit to or reach a formal agreement.” See Holmes` quote at the convention (above) for an example. On the other hand, domestic and social agreements such as those between children and parents are generally unenforceable on the basis of public order.

For example, in the English case Balfour v Balfour, a husband agreed to give his wife £30 a month while away from home, but the court refused to enforce the agreement when the husband stopped paying. In contrast, in Merritt v. Merritt, the court applied an agreement between a separated couple because the circumstances suggested that their agreement was intended to have legal consequences. Accord appears in Old English with the meaning “reconcile” or “reconcile”, borrowed from his Anglo-French acorder Etymon, a word related to the Latin concordāre meaning “to agree”. This original sense of agreement is transitive, and in modern English it still occurs, but rarely. Its transitive meaning of “giving or giving as appropriate, due or deserved” – as in “Teacher`s students pay tribute” – is more frequently encountered. An error is a misunderstanding of one or more parties and can be used as a reason for the nullity of the agreement. The common law has identified three types of errors in the contract: common errors, mutual errors and unilateral errors. In the United States, the term “treaty” has a different and narrower legal meaning than in international law.

U.S. law distinguishes what it calls “contracts” from “executive agreements,” which are either “executive agreements of Congress” or “single executive agreements.” The classes are all equal international treaties; they differ only in the domestic law of the United States. The distinctions mainly concern their mode of admission. Contracts require the deliberation and approval of two-thirds of the senators present, but only executive agreements can be executed by the president alone. Some treaties give the president the power to fill in the gaps through executive agreements rather than additional treaties or protocols. After all, agreements between Congress and the executive branch require majority approval from the House of Representatives and the Senate before or after the president signs the treaty. For a contract to be concluded, the parties must obtain mutual consent (also known as a meeting of spirits). This is usually achieved through an offer and acceptance that does not change the terms of the offer, which is known as the “mirror image rule”. An offer is a clear statement of the supplier`s willingness to be bound by certain conditions. [9] If an alleged acceptance changes the terms of an offer, it is not an acceptance, but a counter-offer and therefore a rejection of the original offer.

The Uniform Commercial Code has the Mirror Image Regulation in §2-207, although the UCC only regulates transactions of goods in the United States. Since a court cannot read minds, the intention of the parties is interpreted objectively from the point of view of a reasonable person,[10] as noted in the first English case of Smith v. Hughes [1871]. It is important to note that if an offer indicates a certain type of acceptance, only one acceptance is valid, which is communicated via this method. [11] Before a treaty enters into force, a number of steps must be taken. The participating States first conduct negotiations. Once they have reached an agreement, the contract is signed. In the Netherlands, treaties require Parliament`s consent. If Parliament gives its consent, ratification will follow. Each country recognized by private international law has its own national legal system governing contracts. While contract law systems may have similarities, they may contain significant differences.

As a result, many contracts contain a choice of law clause and a jurisdiction clause. These provisions govern the laws of the country governing the contract or the country or other jurisdiction in which disputes are resolved. Unless an express agreement on such matters is reached in the contract itself, countries have rules to determine the law governing the contract and the jurisdiction for disputes. For example, European Member States apply Article 4 of the Rome I Regulation to determine the law applicable to the Treaty and the Brussels I Regulation to decide on jurisdiction. In the event of a breach of a promise, the law provides remedies for the injured party, often in the form of pecuniary damages or, in certain circumstances, in the form of specific performance of the promise made. Each Party must be a “qualified person” with legal capacity. The parties may be natural persons (“Natural Persons”) or legal persons (“Companies”). An agreement is reached when an “offer” is accepted. The parties must intend to be legally bound; And to be valid, the agreement must have both an appropriate “form” and a legal purpose. In England (and in jurisdictions that use English contractual principles), parties must also exchange “consideration” to create “reciprocity of obligation,” as in Simpkins v.

Country. [40] Statements of fact in a contract or when obtaining the contract are considered guarantees or insurance. Traditionally, warranties are promises of fact enforced through a contractual action, regardless of materiality, intent or reliability. [68] Representations are traditionally pre-contractual statements that constitute an offence (e.B. offence of deception) if the misrepresentation is negligent or fraudulent; [73] Historically, a tort was the only action available, but in 1778, breach of warranty became a separate contractual action. [68] In the United States, the distinction between the two is unclear; [68] Warranties are primarily considered contract-based lawsuits, while negligent or fraudulent misrepresentations are based on tort, but in the United States there is a confusing mix of jurisdictions. [68] In modern English law, sellers often avoid using the term “represents” to avoid claims under the Misrepresentation Act of 1967, whereas in America,” “warrants and represents” is relatively common. [74] Some modern commentators suggest avoiding words and replacing “state” or “agree,” and some model forms do not use words; [73] However, others disagree. [75] In English-French, approval referred to an agreement between two or more parties, as well as the act or fact of the agreement, consent or agreement (we will return to these words “c” later). .

What Is Noc in Post Office Form

Select a form from the list below. Select a category to limit the offer to a specific form type. A NOC is an essential legal document that constitutes an important banking process, immigration, vehicle and home registration, and in employment scenarios. The standard NOC format can be used for any purpose. You can download a sample NOC format here. The Embassy provides the NOC only to Indians who are staying/working in Nepal and are registered as Indian nationals at the Embassy. If they need to contact the embassy one or two days before their departure for the third country. [1] This legal document can be used in court for or against them. The certificate of no objection usually consists of basic information from the parties involved and is addressed to any person concerned. If you are away for a few days or weeks, we can keep your mail to yourself. Let`s go? Keep your letters and parcels at your new address.

Find out how we can help you at many of our postal offices. The Certificate of No Objection (NOC) is a legal document issued by an organization, institute or individual to say that they have no objection to the details set out in the document. It can be used for employment, trade, litigation, immigration and many other purposes to overturn the objections of the affected party in the process. The Certificate of No Objection, commonly abbreviated as NOC, is a type of legal certificate issued by an agency, organization, institute or, in some cases, an individual. It does not oppose the alliances of the certificate. Certification is a requirement for most government departments, most of which are from the Indian subcontinent. This type of NOK indicates that the vehicle has no previous traffic offences in Maharashtra. It also indicates whether or not there is a mortgage against the vehicle in Maharashtra. The purchaser of the vehicle must present this document at the time of re-registration of the vehicle in Karnataka. As a legal document in India, a NOC can be issued by an employer, employee, landlord, tenant or individual.

It can be used during: Let`s take the example of a person who buys a vehicle registered in another state, say in Maharashtra, to be used in another state, say in Karnataka. In this case, the seller of the vehicle must receive a NOC from the Maharashtra Regional Transport Officer (RTO) and issue it to the buyer of the vehicle in Karnataka. All Indian nationals staying or working in Nepal need an NOC before flying from Nepal to a third country for the first time. The condition for the provision of the NOC by the consular wing of the Embassy is as follows:. .

What Is Gaap Rules in Accounting

GAAP is a standardized framework developed by the professionals of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Generally accepted accounting practices were also included in the framework. Companies may continue to report certain figures without complying with GAAP, provided that they clearly identify those figures as non-GAAP compliant. Companies sometimes do this when they feel that GAAP rules are not flexible enough to capture certain nuances about their operations. In this situation, they may provide specially designed non-GAAP measures in addition to other information required by GAAP. However, investors should be skeptical of non-GAAP measures, as they can sometimes be used in misleading ways. The differences that still exist between the two accounting standards include: government agencies, on the other hand, are affected by a number of standards that are slightly different from GAAP. The Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) manages these standards. Other countries have their own GAAP rules, which are different from those of the United States.

The version of the FASB in each country, such as the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), creates these rules. The Accountant has adhered to GAAP rules and regulations as a standard. Lizzette Matos is a Chartered Public Accountant in New York State. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting from New York University. There are ten principles that can help you understand the mission of GAAP standards and rules. Generally accepted accounting principles also set out specific rules and principles that govern items such as standard currency units, the principle of recognition of costs and revenuesThe principle of realization determines the process and timing by which income is recognised and recognised as an item in an entity, in the format of the financial statements and in the presentation of an entity, as well as the required information. For example, it requires a precise reconciliation of expenses and revenues for the same accounting period (the matching principleThe matching principleThe matching principle is an accounting concept that requires companies to report their expenses at the same time as the income they receive). The accounting entries are spread over the corresponding periods. The principle of materiality refers to misrepresentation in accounting records when the amount is insignificant or insignificant. Due to the materiality principle, financial statements generally show amounts rounded to the nearest dollar. This means that the accounting procedures used in financial reporting (direct debit or credit) must be consistent. As an international alternative to GAAP, IFRS is the accounting standard used in more than 110 countries, while GAAP remains the benchmark for accounting practices in the United States.

Despite the convergence of IFRS and GAAP, there are still obvious differences in these two accounting concepts. These differences include: The 10 generally accepted accounting principles are as follows: – Principle of regularity – Principle of consistency – Principle of sincerity – Principle of sustainability of the method – Principle of non-compensation – Principle of prudence – Principle of continuity – Principle of periodicity – Principle of full disclosure – Principle of highest good faith The principle of matching requires companies to use the accrual and reconcile method of accounting the income of the business with the business. Expenses within a certain period of time. According to accounting historian Stephen Zeff in the CPA Journal, GAAP terminology was first used in 1936 by the American Institute of Accountants (AIA). The federal government`s approval of GAAP began with laws such as the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, laws enforced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that target publicly traded companies. Today, the financial accounting standards board (FASB), an independent body, continuously monitors and updates GAAP. The principle states that the accountant has complied with GAAP rules and regulations. Federal legislation on accounting and IT requirements, security and information requirements for listed companies, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) refers to a common set of accounting methods, standards and procedures published by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Public companies in the U.S. must follow GAAP when preparing their financial statements.

With the convergence of U.S. GAAP and the IFRS accounting system as the supreme authority, the IASB is gaining prominence in the United States. The SEC`s current voting requirement is an important tool that allows them to compare companies from different countries on an apple-to-apple basis. To the extent that accounting standards have not yet converged (or new differences are emerging), investment professionals rely on reconciliation as an efficient and cost-effective way to make them aware of significant differences in accounting. GAAP standards cover financial reporting as a whole. For example, GAAP determines how to file income statements, which fiscal years to include, and how cash flows should be reported. Companies that issue shares are bound by the SEC to this standard, which requires annual external audits by independent accountants, but companies without outside investors are not required to follow this standard. Despite the mandate, the SEC is not responsible for GAAP standards. Instead, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) actively influences changes in accounting standards used at the enterprise level. The FASB Advisory Board (FASAC) advises the FASB on all matters that may affect GAAP rules.

For example, commissions for sales must be recorded in the same billing period in which the sales proceeds were generated (not at the time of payment). Because the U.S. does not fully comply with IFRS, global companies face challenges in preparing financial statements. Although the FASB and the IASB created the Norwalk Agreement in 2002, which promised to merge their unique accounting standards, they have made minimal progress. In an effort to unify, the FASB supports the development of IFRS. GAAP is designed to improve accounting practices, particularly when accountants prepare financial statements. GAAP ensures consistency in financial statements, making it easier for investors to access useful and reliable financial information compiled by accountants with ethical practices. There are 10 general statements of principles in GAAP, these are the principles of; GAAP is a set of standards and practices followed in the United States, but what about other countries? Outside the United States, the alternative in most countries is International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which are regulated by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Although the two systems have different principles, rules and guidelines, IFRS and GAAP have worked to merge the two systems. On an accrual basis, income for the year in which it is generated must be reported in the income statement. That is, as soon as a product has been sold or the service has been provided, sales are recorded….

What Is Coercive Power in Business Management

Adherence to soft power tactics is positively associated with employees` intrinsic motivation, desire to move forward, and employee self-esteem.7 Adherence to hard power tactics is positively associated with extrinsic motivation and desire to get along with others, while it is negatively associated with intrinsic motivation and self-esteem. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines “coercion” as “the use of force to convince someone to do something they don`t want to do.” In business, coercive power is the power that managers must threaten employees with some kind of punishment if they do not follow instructions and achieve the desired goal. Depending on the circumstances, coercive violence can be mild or severe and is usually modulated according to employees` resistance to a manager`s demands. The main thing to remember is that any manager or supervisor who uses coercive force must be willing and able to follow any threat they pose to an employee. For example, if you`re in charge of the sales department and one of your sales reps doesn`t make the required number of sales calls each day, you can tell that person that they`ll be downgraded if they don`t meet the standard within a week. It`s important to remember that coercive violence is not about making threats, but about forcing stubborn employees to follow the protocols and rules you`ve established for your business. In the workplace, there is often a hierarchical order of power and authority that must be followed. Power is defined as the possession of control or authority over others. Those in positions of power in the workplace must understand the extent of the influence they have and must strive not to use coercive force to exploit those below them in titles and prestige. Electricity is often needed in the workplace to ensure that business operations are conducted at a high level, but there is a fine line between efficient use of electricity and misuse. Power should only be used as a positive tool in the workplace and should not be used to induce fear or coercion in any way.

The slippery slope framework postulates that while coercive and legitimate power stimulates similar behavior, their underlying cognitions differ.12 Depending on the framework, cognitions influenced by both power bases include trust in authority (implicit or reason-based), relational (whether antagonistic or service-based) and motives for contribution (forced compliance versus voluntary cooperation). In particular, coercive violence reduces implicit trust, induces an antagonistic climate between authority figures and others, and leads to forced conformity. In 1965, Raven added a sixth power base, the power of information.3 This power base occurs when an influencer makes social change by sharing information and changing cognitive patterns of purpose. Information power is a type of personal power, and its addition has had no bearing on the conceptualization of coercive power. When it comes to heterosexual relationships, men tend to have more coercive violence than their partners because of their physical strength and size.8 However, coercion is a corrosive way for people to get what they want in a relationship, and it can encourage resistance, so partners who are forced tend to be less compromising than if they had been approached with force. Softer.9 Power, which is used positively in the workplace is often identified as a legitimate or rewarding power. Legitimate power refers to the management position that uses influence to keep employees at work and oversee business operations. The use of this power to assess productivity is necessary. Reward power is a type of power given to an employee as an incentive. This means that you offer incentives to motivate and achieve more productivity. In looking for coercion as a deliberate persuasion tactic, the researchers found that soft power tactics (speaker, expert, and information power) tend to be more favorably absorbed than hard power tactics (rewards and coercion).7 A person`s personal motivators influence both the power strategy chosen by the agent of influence and the goal`s willingness to adhere to it.3 Goodstadt and Hjelle found that the University students with an external control location are less likely than those with an internal control location to rely on personal persuasion tactics and use coercive force (i.e.B much more frequently.

threaten to fire someone) if they were dealing with a resistant worker.13 Students with an internal control location relied more on information power than those with an external control location. Based on the persuasion and power tactics used, participants with an internal control location were more convincing than those with an external control location (the “psychologically powerless”).13 In 2017, a team of researchers set out to better understand the underlying cognitions for increased cooperation resulting from coercive and legitimate power.12 The researchers conducted four experiments, study cognitive differences caused by extremely high or low concentrations of coercive and legitimate power. .

What Is an Antitrust Lawyer

This is the eternal question that every lawyer must ask himself. In this case, nothing prevents a smaller private practice from taking over the case. The team you need to create your argument is very small. Most law firms have very small teams working in this area. When a company is accused of violating antitrust laws, it needs legal representation. As a lawyer in this case, you would argue the case, advise, deal with settlement negotiations if necessary, and advocate for the reduction of fines and penalties. As an antitrust lawyer, you should at least be a good negotiator. If you specialize in mergers, most of your work will take place in the courtroom rather than the courtroom. This would require serious negotiations. There are a variety of shady business practices that violate antitrust law. If a company interferes in any way with free market practices, it could fundamentally violate antitrust law. Here, we`ll go over some of the most common transgressions.

The Sherman Act formed the basis of antitrust law. This law was passed in 1890 and was the first federal ordinance to prevent monopolies and regulate competition between companies by prohibiting activities and agreements that would monopolize the market. Let`s take a quick look at the major antitrust laws in the United States. The core of U.S. antitrust law was created by three laws: the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890, the Federal Trade Commission Act — which also created the FTC — and the Clayton Antitrust Act. AH: For me, it should be antitrust investigations of auto parts and class actions; We represented two clients (Bridgestone and Calsonic) in the largest antitrust litigation in history. The case included more than 100 defendants, 50 separate lawsuits, investigations by the Department of Justice and the state, and various direct action cases. Weil played a leading role among dozens of law firms and advanced much of the strategy. We have worked with excellent lawyers and achieved excellent results for our clients.

Here you will find an overview of the three most important federal antitrust laws. Trust in antitrust law refers to a group of companies that merge or form a monopoly to dictate prices in a given market. Antitrust laws are the broad group of state and federal laws designed to ensure fair business competition. Proponents say antitrust laws are necessary for an open market. Healthy competition between sellers leads to lower prices, better quality products and services, more choice and more innovation. Opponents of the antitrust law argue that it would ultimately give consumers the best prices if they allowed companies to compete as they see fit. CA: What can students do to prepare for a career in antitrust law? EH: I defended C&S Wholesale Grocers in an antitrust class action lawsuit. After a two-week trial, the jury rendered a quick verdict for our client, who found no conspiracy. I have had many interesting cases over the years, but the rush for a (favorable) jury verdict has been an unprecedented experience. Jeff White, Partner: Antitrust laws are about protecting competition and consumers.

They are relevant to the products and services sold on a daily basis, and without antitrust laws, we would undoubtedly see much higher prices for the same products and services, less quality and less innovation. The FTC can refer evidence of criminal violations of antitrust law to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal sanctions. The GM is responsible for telecommunications, banks, railways and airlines. The FTC and DOJ also work with regulators to ensure that certain mergers are in the public interest. The second category, mergers, requires antitrust lawyers to advise their client on the ongoing M&A transaction. Lawyers will file documents with the relevant regulatory authorities relating to the merger, conduct due diligence (similar to finding litigation) in connection with the merger to inquire about relevant facts related to the product and geographic market, advise on potential regulatory issues and (if necessary) negotiate a outcome; which will allow the merger to be carried out. Since this practice is related to the life cycle of M&A transactions, clearing work is more active when the economy is good, as the flow of transactions tends to be larger during these periods. As a rule, merger authorization occurs in a faster time than litigation or investigations; a lawyer in this area can expect to resolve the case quickly and then move on to the next project. BK: Our M&A transactions tend to be leaner, so junior employees often have the opportunity to shine and really take on certain aspects of a business. Partners will rely heavily on partners regardless of their year, although senior partners are more likely to take the initiative to communicate with the client or antitrust authority. Antitrust lawyers work with a lot of documents, so most of the time focuses on writing, editing, reviewing, and researching documents.

Sometimes antitrust lawyers also need to consult economic experts for certain cases. Many countries have general laws that protect consumers and regulate how businesses conduct their business. The aim of these laws is to create a level playing field for similar companies operating in a particular sector, while preventing them from gaining too much power over their competitors. Simply put, they prevent companies from gambling dirty in order to make a profit. These are called antitrust laws. EH: The “day in the life” of an antitrust lawyer covers the entire spectrum. Some days you might be in court discussing motions for presentation, other days you might meet with clients and senior managers to prepare their testimony and discuss the case strategy. And some days you go back to law school, and you have to read cases and edit a letter.

The common denominator is people`s skills, as you will always interact and work with team members, from junior partners and paralegals to a client`s general counsel and CEO. “When a transaction triggers antitrust filings outside the U.S., antitrust lawyers often coordinate those filings and lawsuits globally.” Antitrust lawyers often cite their need for detailed information on various areas of business as an attractive feature of their practice. To work on a litigation case or perform a merger authorization, the lawyer often needs to delve into the specific companies that are at the heart of the case and become familiar with the broader sector in which that company operates. Healthcare, technology, energy, credit cards, and publishing are some of the industries that have seen a good amount of antitrust activity recently. Antitrust laws examine monopolistic activities, price fixing and negotiation, tendering, corporate merger plans, price discrimination, group boycotts, and a number of other business practices that may violate the law depending on the circumstances and the impact on the consumer. There is a set of relevant laws – perhaps the most important being the Sherman Act – and just over a century of case law that fleshes out the rules; State antitrust laws generally follow federal laws. Often, experts perform a detailed analysis of the product or geographic markets. It is the lawyer`s job to present this analysis convincingly to the investigator. The world of antitrust law is characterized by relatively few laws and regulations; This is not an area with a huge regulatory overlay like environmental law.

Detection in cartel cases can be particularly extensive, covering issues related to supply chains, pricing, product development and marketing, competitive information, shareholder meetings (if any) and emails sent in the ordinary course of business. These prosecutions or investigations can take several years to resolve. Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887. Designed to deregulate railways, it said railways must charge passengers fair fees and publicly disclose those fees, among other things. It was the first example of antitrust law, but it was less influential than the Sherman Act, passed in 1890. The Sherman Act prohibited contracts and conspiracies that restricted trade and/or monopolized industries. For example, the Sherman Act states that competing individuals or companies cannot set prices, divide markets, or attempt to manipulate bids. The Sherman Act established specific penalties and fines for violating the conditions. The Sherman Act prohibits “any contract, combination or conspiracy to restrict trade” and any “monopolization, attempted monopolization, conspiracy or combination to monopolize.” A long time ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the Sherman Act does not prohibit any restrictions on trade, but only those that are unreasonable. For example, an agreement between two people to form a partnership restricts trade in one direction, but must not do so inappropriately and may therefore be legal under antitrust laws. On the other hand, some actions are considered so harmful to competition that they are almost always illegal. This includes clear agreements between competing individuals or companies to set prices, divide markets or manipulate offers.

These acts constitute violations “in themselves” of the Sherman Act; In other words, no defence or justification is allowed. Congress passed the first antitrust bill, the Sherman Act, in 1890 as a “comprehensive charter of economic freedom to preserve free and unfettered competition as a rule of commerce.” In 1914, Congress passed two more antitrust laws: the Federal Trade Commission Act, which created the FTC, and the Clayton Act.

What Is a Ship Chartering Company

According to global trade estimates in 2017, more than 10.702 billion tons of goods over 58 trillion kilometers in tonnage were shipped on 50,732 ships worldwide. If the container ships are removed, about 44,000 ships were involved in transporting oil, dry bulk, general purpose, gas, etc. Using standard forms, ship charterers plan a voyage, calculate associated costs, arrange ship handling and shipping, and process ship and cargo documents. It is also necessary to process claims and insurance claims if necessary. Good communication and interpersonal skills are therefore essential for this role, while an analytical and proactive nature can also be helpful. The authority or body that registers a merchant ship is called the Ship Register. This can be a registry of state ships or a registry owned by private organizations such as Lloyds Registry, Bureau Veritas, Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), etc. The price of this form of ship charter or ship charter is usually set in U.S. dollars per day. It is also possible to use it for a limited period of time, for example, if goods are to be brought from point A to point B and it is not a regular transport. This is the most common type of ship rental. A voyage charter usually involves renting the ship as well as its crew for a specific voyage between two or more ports.

Rent is based on the amount or weight of cargo carried during the journey, or it could be a fixed amount agreed between the parties. In other words, the shipowner receives a fixed income from the chartering of his ships and can use this income to cover the ship`s operating costs, repairs, etc. and pay interest and repay the loan. To make sure it still works, there are also insurance companies that cover the costs in case of a defect or breakdown. The procedure is still used when ships are sailing under foreign flags and Liberia, Antigua and Barbuda are the countries to which the flag is hoisted. The advantage is that the ownership of the vessel is not affected and an entry in the German register of ships still exists. The issue of insurance for ship charters cannot be solved in general. A ship operator is either the shipowner or the (legal) person responsible for the effective management of the ship and its crew. A ship charterer plans the details of the voyage, including the calculation of cargo handling costs for the ship and, depending on the cargo conditions agreed with the shipowner (such as FLT, FIO, etc.), if necessary, land cargo handling equipment, etc.

Before a shipowner offers a ship, a shipowner will be interested in knowing when a ship is being leased, which is called ship charters. Just as people rent an apartment or a car, some people can rent a ship according to their needs. This may involve carrying passengers or goods. Today, about 90% of the world`s non-bulk goods are transported by container ships. Container shipping connects countries, markets and businesses and enables them to buy and sell goods on an unprecedented scale. The leasing of a ship is called a ship charter and begins with the conclusion of an agreement between the shipowner and a third party. In maritime jargon, this Agreement is referred to as the Charter Party. Responsibility for the safety of the vessel and for all financial settlements with external parties rests with the charterer for the duration of the charter. A bareboat rental is also known as a shipwreck charter.

There are three general categories of container ships that correspond to their respective capacities: Feeder, Panamaxes and Post Panamaxes. Feeders have a capacity of up to 3,000 TEUs and typically serve small container ports; Panamax has a capacity of between 3,000 and 4,250 TEUs, and Post Panamax has a capacity of more than 4,250. It would do the broker good if they knew all these details before contacting a potential client. The charterer has direct contact with a large number of customers (mainly in the business sector) who wish to transport goods and therefore charters its vessels over the long term in order to manage the volume of orders. In this way, the rent of the ships is also guaranteed, which derives from the income from transport. Shipping brokers play an important role in bringing together the right shipowner and charterer and finalizing the terms of the agreement between them. A marine broker is not responsible for the vessel, its operation or the cargo it carries. He is only the intermediary between the shipowner and the charterer. A shipping broker can be active in many areas of brokerage such as dry cargo, tanker chartering, selling and buying ships, and general-purpose freight, but brokers generally prefer to specialize in one of these areas. The time charter equivalent is a standard measure for the shipping industry that is primarily used to compare changes in a shipping company`s performance from one period to the next despite changes in the combination of charter types. Just as the shipowner needs to know the type of cargo to be carried on the ship and its date of departure, etc., the charterer must know the handling capacity of the ship and its flag. In this case, the employment contract transfers responsibility for technical maintenance or administration to the hiring person.

When they take possession of the ship, they have full control over it and assume financial and legal responsibility as long as it is in their possession. A good shipping broker would have a solid database of contacts and an ear for the field in the shipping market and would be able to interpret market trends and look for opportunities for clients. Each ship must be registered, receive its nationality and confirmation of ownership. Each registered ship shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the law of the country in which it is registered, known as the flag State. Some countries or organizations can only register ships from that particular country. These organizations are known as national registries. So you can imagine that cargo owners who have the cargo don`t know all the owners of the 44,000 ships available to carry their cargo. .

What Is a Master Service Agreement Oil and Gas

An MSA is a legal agreement between two parties that sets out the legal terms that apply to all work subsequently ordered by an operator and accepted by a contractor. MSAs are intentionally designed to be broad enough to cover any type of work that could be ordered (whether goods, services, or rentals), and possibly last forever with auto-renewal conditions. MSAs are therefore very effective, as the parties may only have to negotiate once upstream (less recourse to lawyers!) and after that, the parties can simply agree to work on a contractual basis – usually by placing work orders – knowing that the legal conditions are already in place. Compensation prevents everyone from pointing the finger at everyone, making defending the lawsuit more cost-effective. It also allows a service company to pass on the risk to its insurers. In drilling situations, compensation discourages the service company from making a counterclaim. The service provider transfers the risk to the operator. An oil and gas MSA can be a damning document with several different clauses. Here are six important tips to make sure your business interests are protected in the deal: For those who have worked in the oil and gas industry for a while, whether as a representative of an E&P company or a service provider, chances are you`ve heard of MSAs. MSAs (short for Master Service Agreements) are widely used in the industry and it is rare for a service provider to be approved for work by an operator without first having an MSA. Well out of control. Few contracts explicitly hold contractors responsible for eruptions; This is usually the responsibility of the operator.

But some contracts remain silent about well control or have ambiguous language that could leave a contractor open to claims. In these cases, the agreement must be amended to make it clear that the operator assumes responsibility for the control of the well. But again, we see that some operators are adding provisions that can hold contractors liable for damage caused by eruptions if the contractor is grossly negligent or causes the problem through intentional misconduct. Such a situation could affect a drunk employee of a well-maintaining contractor who caused a rash by placing the wrong sized blowout preventer on a well. This could make the contractor liable for the cost of controlling the well, drilling a new well, clearing debris and repairing damage, as well as a significant legal bill. Out-of-control wells are not covered by the standard liability policies available to energy companies. We are seeing an increasing number of contractors choosing to purchase an additional policy known as additional cost recovery from the prospective operator, so they don`t have to worry about an otherwise very harmful landmine. Contracts for oil and gas projects – known as service framework contracts, or MSAs – are designed to streamline operations and avoid litigation by clearly determining which parties are responsible for unavoidable accidents and injuries. Ask a contract lawyer to review the framework agreement before signing it, especially if you`ve never negotiated one before or if there`s a language you don`t understand. A lawyer can help you negotiate an agreement that protects your business interests. Compensation is essential for drilling and other oil projects where the risk of injury can be relatively high. Many indemnification clauses also address pollution and environmental damage caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.

Before you take responsibility for what happens to your staff and equipment, assess the risk of your role in the project. Make sure your business has the right amount of liability insurance to cover this risk. Some MSAs even require contractors to provide insurance certificates to prove they are insured. The MSA also defines your company`s liability in the event of an accident. In the rapidly changing world of oil services, it`s tempting to take on new business with a handshake. However, it is in the best interest of your business and the oilfield operator to have a signed MSA filed. The alternative could be a trial for millions of dollars and financial ruin. The agreement specifies how the activity will be conducted on the site, but does not process specific orders. Key areas covered by an MSA include warranties, payment terms, liability insurance, and risk management. Many MSAs determine the duration of the contract, dispute resolution and termination. The agreement may also impose business practices such as inspections, site clean-up and payment record keeping. In some cases, the MSA may contain payment terms and restrictions that conflict with work orders and other contracts.

This may come back to haunt you as the MSA acts as a framework agreement compared to other agreements. Make sure the MSA doesn`t include any language that could limit your company`s ability to do work and make money from the project. A Master Service Agreement (MSA) is attractive because it allows the parties involved to quickly negotiate future transactions or agreements. The MSA provides a solid foundation for future activities, and conditions do not need to be renegotiated repeatedly; You only have to negotiate specific terms for the last transaction. A transcript of records is a provision included in service master contracts. This is a formal document that describes the specific work to be done by a service provider for a customer. It records the work activities, the results and the schedule of the work to be carried out. Above all, compensation receives a lot of attention in the oil field.

As a general rule, the parties agree either on a “blow for blow” compensation system or on a “negligent” compensation system. A “blow for blow” compensation system means that the parties are generally liable for their own employees and property (and the parties who belong to their group), regardless of their fault. In a “negligence-based” compensation structure, on the other hand, fault is essential in determining who is responsible for what. Make sure that the MSA language on your company accurately describes all the work you could potentially do for the project. For example, your company might be welding on a construction site and see the work extended to swabs or equipment rental. An MSA that does not include these other services can create a responsibility for your business. Negotiate an agreement that focuses on all the services in your business, not just those that are needed right now. MSAs will also generally “get out” of the general compensation system and separately address some issues related to high dollar exposure, such as. B: pollution, contamination, eruptions, wild wells, damage to wells or reservoirs, loss of minerals and seismic events. Regardless of the compensation scheme used in an MSA, it is important to understand that what can be contractually agreed may be limited by the extent permitted by law. For example, if something that has been contractually agreed violates “public order”.

Knowing these issues is another reason why it is crucial to have a lawyer experienced in negotiating MSAs for oil fields. If your company has never negotiated an MSA before, you should ask a lawyer to review the agreement. Even if you are familiar with MSAs, you may come across one with terms that are difficult to understand. Contact an expert to negotiate an advantageous agreement that protects your company`s interests. The service contract may also cover other points, such as .B. Corporate social responsibility, business ethics, access to networks or facilities, or other terms essential to any future agreement. Some of the common actions in compensation agreements are: A good service framework contract (MSA) saves time and headaches on a complex project. In the oil and gas industry, the MSA sets the terms of the contract between companies involved in exploration, drilling, production and service. The agreement outlines the risks and responsibilities between contractors and employees throughout the life of a project. This eliminates renegotiations and disputes when the work of the project changes. Most MSAs include a termination clause. It sets out what is expected of all parties and what constitutes a breach of contract.

Make sure language doesn`t cause your business to fail. Look for clauses that provide for automatic termination for work that has not been completed within a specific time frame. You don`t want the termination clause to be too specific or demanding. Less often, MSAs require contractors to purchase insurance that is not appropriate to the actual risks of the work they perform. We have seen contractors doing all-land work that need additional insurance to cover offshore risk, probably because the operator had used the same agreement for other offshore projects. These irrelevant provisions should be removed from the MSA or clearly marked as unenforceable in order to avoid a situation in which you could be considered a breach of contract. It is important that contractors work closely with an experienced broker to scan all of their MSAs for hidden landmines that could potentially hold them responsible for multi-million dollar losses. The MSA determines who is responsible in the event of injury to a worker or damage to equipment. Many MSAs contain indemnification or “indemnified” provisions in which the operator and contractors are responsible for what happens to their own employees. All parties agree not to take legal action against each other in the event of an injury or accident on the construction site. This clause is also known as mutual compensation or “blow for blow” provision.

The definition of a master service contract is relatively simple: it is a contract between two parties in which both parties agree on most of the terms that govern future transactions or future agreements. .

What Is a Credit Rating Simple Definition

Credit ratings can refer to a company`s financial instruments, i.e. debt securities such as a bond, but also to the companies themselves. Ratings are issued by rating agencies, the most important of which are Standard & Poor`s, Moody`s and Fitch Ratings. They use designations of letters such as A, B, C. Higher scores should represent a lower probability of default. The credit rating process often involves meetings between the team of credit analysts and the state on the creditworthiness of the state. The credit analyst creates a credit presentation that discusses the most important analytical factors. The credit analyst then submits the credit to the senior analyst for “approval” and makes a recommendation for the rating. The credit analyst makes a presentation to a rating committee of senior analysts. Finally, the credit analyst prepares a municipal credit report in which the rating and the main analytical factors are discussed. The rating is transmitted to the issuer and then to a telecommunications service, followed by a publication of the full credit report. A rating is a quantified assessment of a borrower`s creditworthiness in a general form or in relation to a specific debt or financial obligation. A credit rating can be assigned to any business that wants to borrow money – an individual, a business, a state or provincial authority, or a sovereign government.

Changes in solvency can have a significant impact on financial markets. An excellent example is the negative market reaction to the downgrading of the US federal government`s credit rating by Standard & Poor`s on August 5, 2011. Global stock markets plunged for weeks after the downgrade. For a borrower, it is important to remain diligent in maintaining a high credit rating. Credit scores are never static; In fact, they are constantly changing based on the latest data, and negative guilt will reduce even the highest score. Credit also takes time to accumulate. A company with good credit but a short credit history is not viewed as positively as another company with the same credit quality, but a longer history. Debtors want to know that a borrower can maintain a good loan consistently over time. Given the importance of maintaining a good credit score, it`s worth considering one of the best credit monitoring services to ensure your information stays safe. With the intention of becoming a full-service global rating agency, Fitch Ratings merged in the late 1990s with IBCA of London, a subsidiary of Fimalac, S.A., a French holding company. Fitch also acquired its market competitors Thomson BankWatch and Duff & Phelps Credit Ratings Co.

Beginning in 2004, Fitch began developing operational subsidiaries specializing in enterprise risk management, data services and training in the financial sector, with the acquisition of a Canadian company, Algorithmics, and the creation of Fitch Solutions and Fitch Learning. Agencies do not attach a precise number of probabilities of default to each rating, preferring descriptive definitions such as: “The debtor`s ability to meet its financial obligation under the obligation is extremely high” or “less sensitive to default than other speculative issues…” (Standard and Poors definition of a AAA-rated bond or a BB-rated bond). [6] However, some studies have estimated the average risk and yield of bonds by rating. A study by Moody`s[7][8] claimed that bonds over a “5-year time horizon” received their highest rating (Aaa) for having a “cumulative default rate” of 0.18%, the next highest (Aa2) 0.28%, the next (Baa2) 2.11%, 8.82% for the next (Ba2) and 31.24% for the lowest (B2). (See “Default Rate” in the “Estimated Deviations and Default Rates by Rating Rate” table on the right.) Over a longer period of time, it says, “Order is largely, but not exactly, preserved.” [9] Many factors determine solvency. Here`s what can bite into yours. The U.S. government`s credit rating according to Standard & Poor`s, which downgraded the country`s rating from AAA (pending) to AA+ (excellent) on August 5, 2011 A credit score determines not only whether or not a borrower is eligible for a loan, but also the interest rate at which the loan must be repaid. Since businesses rely on loans for many start-up and other expenses, refusing a loan could be a disaster, and a high interest rate is much harder to repay. Your credit score should play a role in choosing which lenders to apply for a loan from. The right lender for someone with perfect credit will probably be different from someone with good or even bad credit. Solvency is a monetary term that you need to understand.

Here`s what that means. Tally consolidates your credit cards into a low-interest line of credit, so you only have to make one payment. FICO scores range from a minimum of 300 to a maximum of 850 – a perfect credit score achieved by only about 1% of the population. In general, a very good credit score is one that is 740 or higher. This score qualifies a person for the best possible interest rates for a mortgage and the most favorable terms for other lines of credit. When scores are between 580 and 740, funding for some loans can often be secured, but interest rates rise as credit scores decline. People with a credit score below 580 may have trouble finding any type of legitimate credit. The expansion of this idea led to the creation of Moody`s Investors Service in 1914, which was to provide ratings for almost every government bond market of the time over the next 10 years. In the 1970s, Moody`s began evaluating commercial paper and bank deposits and became the comprehensive rating agency it is today. Individual loans are evaluated by credit reference agencies such as Experian, Equifax and TransUnion on a three-digit numerical scale using a form of Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) credit rating.

Credit rating and rating of companies and governments is usually done by a rating agency such as S&P Global, Moody`s or Fitch Ratings. These rating agencies are paid by the company seeking to obtain a credit rating for itself or for one of its debt securities. How are bonds valued? The rating request is usually made a few weeks before the bonds are issued in order to give the rating agencies time to carry out their review and analysis. The state provides credit rating agencies with the necessary documentation for this review, including: Your creditworthiness or score is never a static number and may change due to new information that financial institutions send to reporting agents. If you miss a payment or apply for a new line of credit, this information will be forwarded to the credit reference agencies. If you have a high credit score, a missed payment can reduce your credit score. Want to know the difference between a credit report and a credit score? Find out today. Different rating agencies may use variants of an alphabetical combination of lowercase and uppercase letters, adding signs or numbers more or less to further refine the rating (see colored table). The Standard & Poor`s rating scale uses capital letters and plus and minus signs. [12] Moody`s rating system uses lowercase numbers and letters as well as uppercase letters. Currently, three leading credit agencies control 85% of the entire ratings market: Moody`s Investor Services, Standard and Poor`s (S&P) and Fitch Group. Each agency uses unique but surprisingly similar rating styles to indicate credit ratings.

A credit agency evaluates the creditworthiness of a debtor by analysing the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the company concerned. The information may come from internal company information, such as .B. audited financial statements, annual reports, and external information such as analyst reports, published news articles, general industry analysis, and forecasts. Moody`s issued publicly available credit ratings for bonds in 1909, and other agencies followed suit in the decades that followed. These ratings did not have a profound impact on the market until 1936, when a new rule was adopted prohibiting banks from investing in speculative bonds, i.e. bonds with a low credit rating. This was to avoid the risk of default, which could lead to financial losses. This practice was quickly adopted by other companies and financial institutions, and it quickly became the norm to rely on credit ratings. It is important to note that FICO scores do not take into account age, but they do weigh the length of credit history. Even though young people may be at a disadvantage, it is possible for people with a short history to achieve favorable results based on the rest of the credit report.

Newer accounts, for example, lower the average age of the account, which could reduce the credit score. .

What Immunity Means in Law

State and federal laws can grant witnesses immunity from prosecution if they use their testimony in court or before a grand jury. Sometimes a witness` testimony is so valuable to crime prevention and justice objectives that promising to leave that witness unpunished is fair trade. For example, the testimony of a drug dealer who could help law enforcement destroy an entire illegal drug manufacturing network is more beneficial to society than prosecuting this lonely drug dealer. Although the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grants witnesses a privilege against self-incrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed prosecutors to overcome this privilege by granting immunity to witnesses. It is at the sole discretion of prosecutors to grant immunity to witnesses who appear before a grand jury or court. trans·ac·tion·al immunity [tran-zak-shə-nəl-, -sak-]: Immunity from prosecution granted to a witness for a crime related to his or her forced testimony – see also Using immunity in this entry Congressional committees have the power to grant immunity to witnesses who testify before members of Congress. Congressional investigations into allegations of wrongdoing — such as the Watergate investigations in the 1970s and the Iran-Contra investigations in the 1980s — rely heavily on testimony. While prosecutors simply decide whether or not to grant immunity to a witness, congressional committees must follow more formal procedures. Immunity may be granted only after a two-thirds majority of the members of the Committee. Ten days before immunized testimony, the committee must inform the Department of Justice or independent counsel of its intention to grant immunity. Discretionary immunity: Conditional immunity from civil liability for tort or omission resulting from the discretionary actions of a government employee performed in the course of his or her duties, see also the Federal Tort Claims Act in the Important Statutes section NOTE: The Federal Tort Claims Act contains an additional requirement to act in good faith for discretionary immunity granted to the federal government.

He called the Federals, who were happy with the tip. They wanted to interview Norm, who demanded immunity before saying anything. They offered immunity from the standard if he testified against neighbors. The exhausted standard forgot what he had learned in law school and signed the papers because he thought immunity would make him inviolable. He spilled his intestines and told the officers how easy it was to buy pirated DVDs for $5 each at the video store. Norm explained that those who interfered, the neighbors used their ill-gotten profits to buy range Rover and throw disgusting parties all night, evidence that would later be useful to sue the neighbors. Our editors will review what you have submitted and decide if you want to review the article. In Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S.

194, 121 pp. Ct. 2151, 150 L. Ed.2d 272 (2001), the U.S. Supreme Court applied the qualified immunity test to an allegation that a U.S. intelligence officer used excessive force to deport a protester. The court reaffirmed its general belief that law enforcement agencies should have the benefit of the doubt that they acted lawfully in the course of their day-to-day activities. In addition, one of the main purposes of qualified immunity is to remove the defendant from the claim as soon as possible, thereby reducing court costs. Judge Anthony Kennedy reaffirmed the principle that immunity is not a “simple defense” against responsibility, but “immunity from prosecution.” Therefore, immunity problems should be resolved as soon as possible. As for the first step, Kennedy agreed that the case revealed a “general statement” that excessive force is contrary to the Fourth Amendment. However, a more specific investigation must take place to see if a reasonable officer “would understand that what he is doing violates that right.” With respect to this second stage, Justice Kennedy rejected the idea that, because the applicant and the official were disputing certain facts, there could be no short circuit of this stage. He explained that “the purpose of the immunity investigation is to recognize that reasonable errors may be made with respect to legal restrictions on particular police conduct.” Officers have difficulty estimating the extent of violence required in certain circumstances.

However, if their error is reasonable in terms of “what the law requires, the public servant is entitled to a defence of immunity”. Constitutional immunity: Immunity (as if it were a tax) granted or created by a constitution (such as the U.S. Constitution) The doctrine of sovereign immunity defends the principle that a nation is immune from prosecution in the courts of another country. It was first used by U.S. courts in The Schooner Exchange v.M Faddon, 11 U.S. (7 Cranch) 116, 3 L. ed. 287 (1812). Initially, the courts advanced a theory that granted absolute immunity from the jurisdiction of a U.S. court for any act of a foreign state. But beginning in the early 1900s, courts relied on the political branches of government to define the extent and limits of sovereign immunity. There are many ways in which statements made under immunity can come back to prosecute a witness.

Before providing information to the government in exchange for immunity, it is important to consult an experienced defense attorney who can explain the possible consequences and your rights. Norm didn`t know the store was already being watched. According to Norm`s testimony, federal authorities broke in and arrested Norm`s neighbors. When they checked the store`s receipts, they found that Norm himself was a frequent shopper and bought tons of kung fu movies to spend the sleepless nights. Believing he was completely protected, Norm told his story to the grand jury, which filed a lawsuit against the neighbors. The store`s investigation revealed that the hacked DVD operation was vast and brought in millions of dollars, so law enforcement also sued some of the top buyers. Norm, of course, was quite shocked when he too was indicted a few weeks later. He called the agent who had seemed so nice before. “I thought I had immunity, idiot!” Government immunity: Discretionary immunity granted to a government entity (as an agency) or its employees;overall: sovereign immunity in this entry A prosecutor may grant immunity from prosecution to a witness suspected of criminal activity in exchange for that person`s testimony against other alleged criminals. In U.S. law, there are two types of criminal immunity: transactional immunity and immunity from use. A person who has been granted transactional immunity cannot be prosecuted for a crime about which he testifies on the basis of immunity.

The testimony of a person who has been granted immunity cannot be used against that person, but that person can still be prosecuted for the crime using other evidence. In order to strengthen the witness`s cooperation, immunity must also protect the witness from derivative use – that is, from the use of information obtained from the witness to find other witnesses or evidence against that witness. Other states have fallen into sync with Mississippi and assumed parental immunity to varying degrees. Some laws on parental immunity only prohibit allegations of negligence, while others prohibit prosecution for intentional offenses such as rape and beatings. The raison d`être of parental immunity laws includes the need to preserve family harmony and, with the availability of liability insurance, the need to prevent parents and children from colluding to deceive insurance companies. Sovereign immunity: the absolute immunity of a sovereign government (as a state) from a lawsuit, see also Federal Tort Claims Act in the “Important Laws” section Amendment xi of the Constitution in the background NOTE: For a lawsuit to be brought against a state or the federal government, sovereign immunity must be waived by the government. Immunity agreements are contracts between the government and witnesses. The witness gives information and testimony and the government promises not to lay charges.

But it`s not that simple. These contracts usually take one of two forms, and while they offer some protection, they do not really make the witness “immune,” as the word is commonly understood. Under an “immunity from use or derivative use” agreement, the government cannot use the witness`s testimony or evidence derived from it (“derivatives”) against that witness. “Transaction immunity” is much stronger and prevents the government from prosecuting the witness for crimes (“transactions”) related to the testimony. Norm hastily agreed to use immunity and derived immunity and got into trouble because the feds did not “use” his statements against him. Because of previous surveillance and receipts, Norm was guilty on the basis of legitimate sources of evidence unrelated to his testimony. If it had been transactional immunity, Norm might have been protected. In the United Kingdom, certain exercises of royal prerogative, which appear to give the government of the day the opportunity for massive and irresponsible discretion, are rightly suspected, while the immunity of MPs who speak in Parliament or people who testify before the courts against defamation proceedings is generally considered an acceptable protection against powerful (and wealthy) interests. public debate or the administration of justice.

[1] Official immunity: Discretion Immunity from personal liability granted to public officials for misdemeanours and omissions Compare government immunity in this entry Use immunity: Immunity granted to a witness in criminal proceedings that prevents the use of the witness`s forced testimony against that witness in a prosecution NOTE: Immunity from transaction and use is granted, preserve constitutional protection against self-incrimination. .

What Does Social Agreement Mean

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778, lived and wrote during arguably the most exhilarating period in the intellectual history of modern France – the Enlightenment. He was one of the bright lights of this intellectual movement, contributing to articles to Diderot`s Encyclopedia and participating in the Paris Salons, where the great intellectual questions of his time were pursued. This racial contract is, to some extent, a meta-contract that determines the limits of personality and the parameters of inclusion and exclusion in all the other contracts that follow. It manifests itself both formally and informally. It is an agreement, originally between European men in early modern times, to identify themselves as “white” and therefore fully human and to identify all others, especially the natives with whom they began to come into contact, as “others”: non-white and therefore not completely human. Thus, race is not only a social construct, as others have argued, it is above all a political construct created to serve a particular political goal and the political goals of a particular group. The treaty allows some people to treat others, as well as the land they inhabit, as resources that need to be exploited. The enslavement of millions of Africans and the appropriation of America by those who inhabited them are examples of this racial treaty that has been at work throughout history (such as Locke`s claim that Native Americans did not own the land on which they lived because they did not cultivate it and therefore did not own it). This contract is not hypothetical, as Hobbes describes the contract argued in his Leviathan. It is a real contract or a set of contracts concluded by real men of history. It is found in documents such as papal bulls and Locke`s writings on Native Americans and has been used in historical events such as Europeans` voyages of discovery and colonization of Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

The racial treaty allows and justifies certain people, by virtue of their alleged superiority, to exploit the peoples, lands and resources of other races. For Rousseau, this means an extremely strong and direct form of democracy. You cannot transfer your will to someone else to do what you think is right, as you do in representative democracies. On the contrary, the general will depends on the fact that the whole democratic body, each individual citizen, meets regularly to decide together and at least almost unanimously how to live together, that is, which laws should be promulgated. Since it is composed only of individual wills, these private and individual wills must be composed regularly for the general will to continue. One implication of this is that the strong form of democracy, compatible with the general will, is only possible in relatively small states. People need to be able to identify with each other and at least know who they are. They cannot live in a vast area too dispersed to meet regularly, and they cannot live in such diverse geographical circumstances that they cannot be united under common laws.

(Could today`s United States fulfill Rousseau`s concept of democracy? That was not possible. Although the conditions for true democracy are strict, they are also the only way in which we can save ourselves after Rousseau and regain the freedom to which we are naturally entitled. The central assertion that social contract theory is approaching is that law and political order are not natural, but human creations. The social contract and the political order it creates are only the means to an end – the benefit of the individuals involved – and are legitimate only to the extent that they fulfill their part of the agreement. Hobbes argued that the government is not a party to the original treaty and that citizens are not obliged to submit to the government if it is too weak to act effectively to suppress factionism and civil unrest. According to other social contract theorists, if the government does not guarantee their natural rights (locke) or satisfy the best interests of society (called “general will” by Rousseau), citizens can withdraw their duty of obedience or change direction through elections or other means, including, if necessary, violence. Locke believed that natural rights were inalienable and that, therefore, God`s rule replaced governmental authority, while Rousseau believed that democracy (self-government) was the best way to ensure prosperity while maintaining individual freedom under the rule of law. Locke`s concept of social contract was cited in the United States Declaration of Independence. Social contract theories were eclipsed in favor of utilitarianism, Hegelianism, and Marxism in the 19th century; they were built in the 20th century. == References ===== External links ===* Official website [5] The Buddhist king Asoka is said to have pleaded in his rock edicts for a broad and far-reaching social contract. Buddhist vinaya also reflects the social contracts expected of monks; Such a case is when the inhabitants of a particular city complain that monks are slaughtering sakas, the Buddha tells his monks that they must stop and give way to social norms.

One of the first critics of the theory of social contracts was Rousseau`s friend, the philosopher David Hume, who published an essay “Of Civil Liberty” in 1742. The second part of this essay, entitled “From the Original Treatise”[21], points out that the concept of the “social contract” is a convenient fiction: Epicurus seemed to be in the fourth century BC. J.-C. to have had a keen sense of the social contract, with justice and law rooted in mutual agreement and advantage, as these lines prove. among others, from his main teachings (see also Epicurean Ethics): Hobbes` political theory can be better understood if it is understood in two parts: his theory of human motivation, psychological egoism and his theory of the social contract, which is based on the hypothetical state of nature. Hobbes mainly has a certain theory of human nature that leads to a certain vision of morality and politics, as developed in his philosophical masterpiece Leviathan, published in 1651. The scientific revolution, with its important new discoveries that the universe could be both described and predicted in accordance with the universal laws of nature, greatly influenced Hobbes. He tried to provide a theory of human nature that would match the discoveries in the sciences of the inanimate universe. His psychological theory is therefore shaped by the mechanism, the general idea that everything in the universe is created only by moving matter.

According to Hobbes, this also extends to human behavior. Human macrobehavior can rightly be described as the effect of certain types of microhavior, even though some of the latter behavior is invisible to us. Behaviors such as walking, talking and others are therefore themselves generated by other actions in us. And these other actions are themselves caused by the interaction of our body with other bodies, human or otherwise, which create in us certain chains of causes and effects and ultimately lead to human behavior that we can clearly observe. According to this view, we, including all our actions and decisions, are then just as explainable in relation to the universal laws of nature as the movements of celestial bodies. The gradual decay of memory can be explained, for example, by inertia. As more and more sensory information is presented to us, the residue of previous impressions “slows down” over time. From Hobbes` point of view, we are essentially very complicated organic machines that respond to the stimuli of the world mechanically and in accordance with the universal laws of human nature.

Carole Pateman`s 1988 book The Sexual Contract argues that beneath the myth of the idealized contract as described by Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau lies a more fundamental contract about the relationship between men and women. .