Style guide — contract
TopicFrom the PointSav Documentation
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.
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.
[edit]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-engineeringgovernance 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.
[edit]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.
[edit]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.