Contract Drafting

For companies carrying out business abroad it is essential, before drawing up a contract intended to regulate the cross-border relationship, to inform themselves thoroughly of the legal peculiarities of the foreign country and any formal or practical difficulties associated with these.

Contract clauses, e.g. delivery and payment terms, must be formulated in such a way as to be acceptable to the foreign contract partner, be legally permissible in that country, and also be legally enforceable if need be. To do so it is necessary to know the fundamentals of that country’s contract law and give due consideration to these when drafting the contract.

In the context of drafting contracts with Arabic-Islamic countries, the question often arises as to whether Sharia law ought to be applied and, if so, how and to what extent?

The answer may vary from “not at all” in some countries, to “absolutely essential” in others.