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.

Penalties or other means of enforcement used to provide incentives for obedience with the law, or with rules or regulations. Criminal sanctions take the form of serious punishment, such as imprisonment or severe fines, whilst civil sanctions are usually monetary fines levied against a party to court proceedings or his/her legal representative for violating rules of procedure, or for abusing the judicial process.