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| schema: foundry-doc-v1 | |
| title: "Style guide — contract" | |
| slug: style-guide-contract | |
| category: reference | |
| type: topic | |
| quality: complete | |
| short_description: "Editorial standards for contract documents (LEGAL genre) in the platform: parties discipline, recitals format, definitions vocabulary, term and termination clause, and the review-before-binding rule." | |
| status: active | |
| bcsc_class: public-disclosure-safe | |
| last_edited: 2026-05-24 | |
| editor: pointsav-engineering | |
| cites: [] | |
| paired_with: style-guide-contract.es.md | |
| --- | |
| > A contract names its parties, defines its terms, and states what each party is bound to do. Every clause is a commitment or a condition — nothing else. | |
| A **contract** (LEGAL genre) is a formal agreement between two or more named parties that creates binding obligations. It is authored in the legal-plain register and reviewed by the responsible governance party before any party signs. This article is the human-facing standard; the machine-readable counterpart lives in `service-disclosure/templates/contract.toml`. | |
| ## When to use this template | |
| Use the contract template when: | |
| - A formal binding agreement is required between named parties. | |
| - The obligations, term, and termination conditions need to be explicit and traceable. | |
| - The agreement will be reviewed by `factory-release-engineering` governance before execution. | |
| Informal operational agreements between team members or roles do not require a contract — a memo or ticket comment records them. Agreements that bind a legal entity (PointSav Digital Systems, Woodfine Management Corp., or a third party) require governance review before any signature. | |
| ## Structure | |
| The template requires six sections in this order: | |
| | Section | Purpose | | |
| |---|---| | |
| | **Parties** | The full legal names, registered addresses, and defined short names ("PointSav," "Vendor," "Contributor") of every party to the agreement. | | |
| | **Effective date** | The date on which the agreement takes effect. If conditional on signature, state "the date of the last signature." | | |
| | **Recitals** | Short "Whereas" clauses: the context and intent. Two to five recitals. Not obligations — context for interpretation. | | |
| | **Definitions** | Each defined Term, stated once. Defined terms are capitalised throughout the contract after their first definition. | | |
| | **Terms** | The substantive obligations: what each party must do, by when, and under what conditions. Numbered clauses. | | |
| | **Term and termination** | The duration of the agreement, how it may be terminated, and what happens upon termination (survival clauses, obligations that persist). | | |
| An optional **Signatures** block follows the last section. Its format is determined by the jurisdiction and signature method. | |
| ## Register and tone | |
| Legal-plain. Defined terms are capitalised after their first definition. Active voice where possible: "Vendor shall deliver" rather than "Delivery shall be made by Vendor." No "herein," "aforementioned," or "notwithstanding" when plain alternatives exist. Every obligation names a subject and a deadline. | |
| Every agreement that binds a legal entity routes through the system administrator (`open.source@pointsav.com`) for governance review before any signature is obtained. This rule applies without exception. | |
| ## See also | |
| - [[style-guide-cla|Style Guide — CLA]] | |
| - [[style-guide-policy|Style Guide — Policy]] | |
| - [[style-guide-terms|Style Guide — Terms of Use]] | |
| - [[language-protocol-substrate|Language Protocol Substrate]] |