Basic Principles of Contract Drafting

 

The foundation for every legal relationship between two or more parties is established on a basis of a contract. A contract is a document containing a set of terms and clauses framed by the individuals, companies and/or other legal entities that specifically dictates the relationship between such individuals in the future. Once the contract is drafted, affirmed and signed by the parties, it must be registered. Please note that registration of a contract is a very important task that must be completed by the parties to the contract (refer to “why register a contract” in this article for more on this).

Contract drafting course helps you understand step-by-step inclusion of specific clauses, terms and conditions that are expressed as per the needs and wants of the party/parties to the contract. While making a draft one must consider various issues including the subject of the contract, goods to be manufactured, amount of consideration, indemnity, dispute resolution, et cetera.

Once a draft is complete, it must be reviewed. In my personal opinion, every person should ideally get a contract reviewed before signing the contract and entering into agreement with the other parties to such contract. This type of reviewing can be called pre-contract review; although post contract reviewing is the practice which we see most often in our experiences.

To put it simply, contract review is the thorough analysis of the terms, clauses and conditions that are inscribed in the contract. It is an attempt to understand each clause along with the purpose behind framing of such clause. Every person can review the contract himself/herself thoroughly or seek professional assistance from attorneys and advocates to do the review for them. We must keep in mind that contract review can solve many problems and issues at an early stage thereby avoiding losses or harassment in the long run.
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Law of Pleadings in India

The object of jurisprudence is to do justice to a just cause of an individual who approaches the court for justice. Every person who approaches the court seeking justice is called 'Suitor'. The statement of grievance filed before the court is called 'suit'. The judicial process starts with the institution or filing of the suit. The suit instituted or filed before the court is called plaint' and the suitor who files the suit is called the 'plaintiff. The opposite party against whom the suit is filed is called 'Defendant', and his contention or defence is called 'written statement'. The procedure regarding the institution of the plaint and other aspects are incorporated in various provisions of Civil Procedure Code, 1908, supplemented by rules and amendments framed by various State Governments. This subject is very critical for any law graduate we would recommend studying drafting pleadings course beyond regular curriculum.

 

What is pleading?

Order VI of Civil Procedure Code deals with pleadings in general. Order VII deals with plaint and Order VIII deals with written statement. Order VI, Rule 1 defines pleadings as follows:

Pleading:

Pleading shall mean plaint or written statement.

Pleading is nothing but what a party to a suit pleads in support of his contention or case. We are aware that plaintiff and defendants are parties to the suit, and what they plead in their plaint and written statement respectively is called pleading. This is what exactly mentioned in Order VI Rule 1 CPC mentioned above. What a plaintiff pleads is called plaint, and what defendants plead is called written statement.

Fundamentals of Pleadings:

There is no specific form for pleadings. But there are certain fundamental Rules regarding pleadings. They derive their source from Civil Procedure Code. Order VI, Rule 2 of civil Procedure Code explains the fundamental rules regarding Pleading.

 

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Right to Information (RTI) is an act of the Parliament of India which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to information. It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002. Under the provisions of RTI Act, any citizen of India may request information from a "public authority" (a body of Government or "instrumentality of State") which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days. In case of matter involving a petitioner's life and liberty, the information has to be provided within 48 hours. The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally. RTI course certificate can be obtained by studying all the aspects which would make one fit to file RTI applications with confidence.This law was passed by Parliament on 15 June 2005 and came fully into force on 12 October 2005. Every day, over 4800 RTI applications are filed. In the first ten years of the commencement of the act over 17,500,000 applications had been filed.