Some jurisdictions still make use of a seal when a formal contract is signed.
As a protection to lenders and to persons selling goods through installment contracts and the like, the law provides that certain documents be recorded in a public office for inspection by anyone wishing to know about them. For example, when money is loaned on a motor vehicle, the lender may record that transaction in the appropriate public office to protect his or her interest in the vehicle.
Exercise 1. Comprehension questions:
1. What are the forms of agreements?
2. What are the most important rules involving written contracts?
3. What are the exceptions to the parol evidence rule?
4. Explain what condition precedent is.
5. When is the use of witnesses advised?
6. When is acknowledgement by a notary public required and what for?
Exercise 2. Find in the text English equivalents to the following:
Подтверждение; попечитель над наследственным имуществом; требование представления наилучших доказательств; предварительное условие; правило равного достоинства; лишение стороны права возражения по причине ее предшествующего поведения; исполнитель завещания; правило, исключающее устные доказательства; частичное исполнение.
Exercise 3. Consult recommended dictionaries and give words or phrases to the following definitions:
Письменная форма договора; устная форма договора; простая письменная форма; государственная регистрация договора; нотариальная форма договора.
Exercise 4. Be ready to talk on one of the following topics:
1. Identify the types of agreements that must be in writing.
2. List the essential information that should be included in a written memorandum.
3. Explain what is meant by the parol evidence rule.
4. Compare the best evidence rule with the equal dignities rule.
5. Illustrate some methods of writing a signature and discuss the use of a seal.
Exercise 5. Make up your own dialog on the case: In American parts Co. v. American Arbitration Association, the parties had initially reached an oral understanding. The seller had thereafter sent a conforming form which purportedly recited the contract terms (including quantity), added an arbitration clause, and provided that the entire form would become controlling if the «buyer accepts delivery of all or any part of the goods herein described.» The buyer allegedly refused to accept some of the goods, and the seller then sought arbitration. The buyer sought a stay, and the seller moved for summary judgment. In denying summary judgment the court assumed that a conforming form can constitute an «acceptance» even where there has already been an oral offer and acceptance. As a corollary, certain additional terms in the confirmation may become (retroactively, as it were) a part of the original contract.
