A legal document, usually in writing, giving details of a formal legally binding agreement, between two or more different people or groups. To be legally binding it must contain certain elements: it must contain an offer made by one party and accepted in its entirety by the other, it must include some form of consideration whether it be money, goods or services, and it must be properly signed by all parties to it, and dated.

A contract in which all elements of a contract are specifically stated (offer, acceptance and consideration), and the terms are set out, as compared with an implied contract in which the existence of the contract is assumed by the circumstances.

An agreement where one person promises to do something or to refrain from doing something if the other person does something, but the other person makes no promise to do or refrain from doing anything so that no enforceable obligation has been given by the other person.

An area of the law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries that those products cause. Usually, the injured party need not prove that manufacturer or supplier was negligent as the defect is associated with the product. Although the word ‘product’ has broad connotations, product liability as an area of the law is traditionally limited to products in the form of tangible personal property.

A clause in a contract that restricts the amount of money that can be claimed in court by a party to the contract that has suffered financial loss as a result of a breach of contract by the other to the contract.