hanging ideas

So, what makes a contract a contract? A contract is an agreement between parties, with terms and conditions that describe the agreement, that constitutes a legal obligation. A valid contract typically requires the following four elements:

• A meeting of the minds between the parties demonstrating they both understand and agree to the essentials of the deal
  
• Consideration (something of value exchanged by each of the parties, such as cash, goods or a promise to do something)
  
• An agreement to enter into the contract (typically evidenced by both parties signing a written contract, although oral contracts can be valid too in some situations)
  
• The legal competence of each party, meaning the parties are not minors and are of sound mind.

Meeting of the Minds
The first step in creating a contract is making sure both parties are talking about the same deal, so that when they subsequently agree to enter into the contract they are both agreeing to the same thing. Seems obvious, right? Until you realize that the "vintage red car" you planned on buying from your brother-in-law isn't the Ferrari, it's his Pinto. Take the time to communicate your understanding of the deal to the other party, and listen carefully when he talks back.
Consideration
Once the parties have had a "meeting of the minds" as to the deal, they must each exchange something of value in order to create a contract. Often one party provides its goods or services in exchange for the cash of the other party. But consideration can take many other forms, as long as each party is giving up something of value to it to convince the other party to enter into the contract.
You could read law treatises defining "consideration" until the cows come home, but in the real world your biggest issues related to consideration will be how much and when.

If cash is exchanging hands in your contract, think through any assumptions you are making about the way payment will be made.

• If you expect to be paid at the time the contract is signed, say so.
  
• If one of the parties will be paying after the contract is signed, say whether the payment will be in cash, by check, by cashiers' check or by wire transfer. It's better to be explicit about the way the money will change hands. For example, you would likely want a cashier's check if you are turning over title to a car or other significant assets.
  
• If payments will be made over time, or will be made based on external factors such as the amount of business done, you may need to define the payment schedule using a formula. Keep the formula simple, and feel free to put examples of how the formula will work right in the body of the contract.
  
• If you have to use a complex royalty or other payment formula, test the formula out with the other side to be sure you both understand it.

Be wary of "gift contracts," where someone gets something for nothing. If the value one party is receiving is truly free, so that only the other side is giving up something of value, then it's likely that no contract has been formed. You usually can't make someone give you a true gift, no matter how many times the giver promised to do so.

Agreement to Enter into the Contract
Once both parties understand the deal and understand what type of consideration will be exchanged by each party, they are ready to form an agreement. Usually the parties demonstrate that negotiations have ended and an agreement has been reached when the parties sign the contract.

In business as in opera, it's not over until the fat lady sings - I mean signs. It's fine, within reason, to negotiate changes in a written contract up until the moment you sign it.
Legal Competence
Be sure that the party you're working with is legally competent to enter into a contract. Otherwise your signed contract may be void and unenforceable (as in worthless and worth zippo). Even if the other guy wears a lampshade on his head, he may be legally competent. But watch out for the following situations

• Minors cannot enter into contracts without the additional signature of their parents or guardians. In most states a minor is a person under the age of 18.
  
• Persons lacking sound mind usually cannot enter into contracts because, the reasoning goes, they lack the ability to understand what they are doing and to create a "meeting of the minds." Persons lacking sound mind generally are those who are mentally handicapped, or impaired by the use of drugs or alcohol, to such an extent that they cannot understand the significance of their acts.
  
• Persons who lack authority to act on behalf of someone else may not be able to legally bind that other person or company. So make sure that the person signing on behalf of a company or other person has the legal authority to do so.

Requirements for a Legal Contract

By an eHow Contributor

I want to do this! What's This?

In order to have a legal, binding contract, there are several requirements. This article outlines these requirements, explains each one and indicates their importance.

Three Basic Components

1. The first requirement is a valid offer. The next requirement is an acceptance of the offer. The final requirement is consideration.

Valid Offer

2. In order for a contract to be binding, there must be a valid offer. An offer is the expression of a proposal by which an individual is seeking to do something. For example, a person might offer to sell something or provide a service. Additionally, the offer must indicate that the person is willing to do something for the other person. Moreover, the person making the offer must intend to make a legally binding offer.

Acceptance

3. In order to constitute a legally binding contract, there must an acceptance of the offer. Acceptance is one's consent to the offer. This consent must be provided to the person who made the offer. Once acceptance has occurred, the person making the acceptance is promising to follow through on the terms of the offer.

Consideration

4. Consideration is something of value that is exchanged in accordance with the party's agreement to perform under the terms of the contract. Consideration could be the exchange of money or the exchange of another promise to do something. In a business contract, the payment of the price could constitute consideration. Without consideration, there is no valid contract.

Written or Oral

5. A contract may or may not be in writing. There have been instances where a contract was found to exist despite the fact that there was no writing indicating the existence of a contract. These instances are a frequent source of litigation. It is always advisable to have the contract in writing whenever possible, and the parties should both sign the contract. In the event that one seeks to draft a contract, it is best to consult an attorney and check with the particular jurisdiction in which one resides to ensure that all requirements are properly fulfilled.

Read more: Requirements for a Legal Contract | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5098552_requirements-legal-contract.html#ixzz110yYIg7X

a legal contract

A notary is a lawyer or person with legal training who is licensed by the state to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems.

Most common law systems have what is called in the United States a notary public, a public official who notarizes legal documents and who can also administer and take oaths and affirmations, among other tasks. In the United States, a Signing agent, also known as a Loan Signing Agent, is a Notary Public who specializes in notarizing mortgage/real estate documents. Although notaries public are public officials, they are not paid by the government; they may obtain income by charging fees, provide free services in connection with other employment (for example, bank employees), or may provide free services for the public good.

Most Roman law-based systems have the civil law notary, a legal professional working in civil law performing similar functions, but often rather more extensive. The Worshipful Company of Scriveners use an old English term for a notary, and are an association of notaries practicing in central London since 1373.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notary"

Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, wherein the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons (the "arbitrators", "arbiters" or "arbitral tribunal"), by whose decision (the "award") they agree to be bound. It is a settlement technique in which a third party reviews the case and imposes a decision that is legally binding for both sides.^[1] Other forms of ADR include mediation^[2] (a form of settlement negotiation facilitated by a neutral third party) and non-binding resolution by experts. Arbitration is most commonly used for the resolution of commercial disputes, particularly in the context of international commercial transactions. The use of arbitration is far more controversial in consumer and employment matters, where arbitration is not voluntary but is instead imposed on consumers or employees through fine-print contracts, denying individuals their right to access the courts.

WINACA VILLAGE

This article contains a partial list of Philippine laws. Philippine laws have had various nomenclature designations at different periods in the history of the Philippines, as shown in the following table:

Designations used for Philippine laws

Nomenclature Designation	Abbreviation	Form of government	Dates
Act	Act	United States Occupation	1900-1935
Commonwealth Act	CA	Philippine Commonwealth	1935-1946
Batas Pambansa	BP	Modified Parliamentary Republic	1978-1985
Presidential Decree	PD	Republic under martial law/Republic	1972-1986
Presidential Proclamation	PP	Republic under martial law	1972-1986
Executive Order	EO	Republic under 1986 Provisional Constitution	1986-1987
Presidential Proclamation	PP	Republic under 1986 Provisional Constitution	1986-1987
Republic Act	RA	Republic	1946-72, 1987-present

The following table lists of Philippine laws which have been mentioned in Wikipedia, or which are otherwise notable.

Designation	Date Passed	Result
Act 1696	September 6, 1907	Known as the Flag Law, this law proscribed the Philippine flag and banned the use of the Philippine national anthem. The law was repealed in 1919.
Act 1790	October 12, 1907	Permitted the Banco Español-Filipino to change its name. The name change took place on January 1, 1912 into today's Bank of the Philippine Islands.
Act 1876	August 18, 1908	Mountain Province was established with Amburayan, Apayao, Benguet, Bontoc, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Lepanto as sub-provinces.
Act 1952		The province of Batanes was reestablished.
Act 2280	February 21, 1920	Marinduque was reestablished as a separate province.
Act 2711	March 10, 1917	Established most of the modern-day provinces of the Philippines: the province of Camarines was split into Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur and the province of Bohol was created.
Act 2871	October 22, 1919	Repealed the Flag Law and legalized the use of the Philippine flag and national anthem.
Act 3436	November 28, 1928	Established the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) with the bill granting it a 50-year charter.
Act 3815	December 8, 1930	The Revised Penal Code.
Act 3827	October 28, 1931	Declared the last Sunday of August as National Heroes' Day.
CA 1	December 21, 1935	The National Defense Act of 1935, which created an independent Philippine army.
CA 39	October 21, 1936	Established Zamboanga City.
CA 63	October 21, 1936	An act providing for the ways in which Philippine citizenship may be lost or reacquired.
CA 382	December 5, 1938	The English words to the Philippine national anthem were made official.
CA 473	June 17, 1939	Revised Naturalization Law.
CA 502	October 22, 1939	Established Quezon City.
CA 638	June 14, 1941	Provided for the publication and distribution of the Official Gazette.
RA 1	July 15, 1946	Act appropriating funds for the operation of the Government of the Philippines.
RA 14	September 7, 1946	Changed the name of the province of Tayabas to Quezon.
RA 53	October 5, 1946	Press Freedom Law (now known as the Sotto Law).
RA 85	October 29, 1946	Charter of the Development Bank of the Philippines.
RA 265	June 15, 1948	Established the Central Bank of the Philippines.
RA 305	December 15, 1948	Declared Naga City a chartered city.
RA 333	July 17, 1948	Declared Quezon City the capital of the Philippines.
RA 387	June 18, 1949	Petroleum Act of 1949
RA 521	June 15, 1950	An act converting Cagayan de Misamis into the City of Cagayan de Oro.
RA 537	June 16, 1950	Extended the area of Quezon City.
RA 711	June 6, 1952	The province of Zamboanga is split into Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur.
RA 1414	April 25, 1956	Separated Aklan from Capiz
RA 2141	April 8, 1959	Made Biliran a sub-province of Leyte.
RA 2733	June 10, 1960	Assert that the first mass in the Philippines took place at a site on Limasawa, Southern Leyte; declare the site a national shrine.
RA 2786	June 19, 1960	The province of Surigao is split into Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur.
RA 3518	June 18, 1963	Established the Philippine Veterans Bank
RA 3844	August 8, 1963	Established the pace for land reform in the Philippines. Landbank was formed from this law.
RA 4200	June 19, 1965	The anti-wiretapping law.
RA 4695	June 18, 1966	Formed the provinces of Kalinga-Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, and Mountain Province from the earlier Mountain Province
RA 4979		Divided Agusan into Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur
RA 5000	June 17, 1967	Creation of Barrio Claro M. Recto, Odiongan, Romblon
RA 6134	August 30, 1970	Converted the town of Surigao, Surigao del Norte into a city
RA 6173		Oil Industry Commission Act
RA 6395		Charter of the National Power Corporation
RA 6396	September 17, 1971	Made Siquijor an independent province.
RA 6430	June 17, 1972	Changed the name of the province of Davao del Norte to Davao.
BP 8	December 2, 1978	Defined the metric system and set the basis for the implementation of the metric system in the Philippines. Modern Philippine Standard Time was also instituted under this law.
BP 54	December 22, 1979	Set the date of January 30, 1980 as the date for a plebiscite to ratify the 1976 amendments to the 1973 Constitution of the Philippines.
BP 122	March 10, 1981	Set the date of April 7, 1981 as the date for a plebiscite to ratify the 1981 amendments to the 1973 Constitution of the Philippines.
BP 185	March 16, 1982	Provides that a natural-born citizen of the Philippines who has lost his Philippine citizenship may be a transferee of private land, for use by him as his residence, subject to the provisions of this Act.
BP 880	December 3, 1985	Public Assembly Act of 1985
BP 881	December 3, 1985	Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines
BP 883	December 3, 1985	Set the date of February 7, 1986 as the date for a SNAP Election for President and Vice-President. Ferdinand Marcos and Arturo Tolentino win the election, but are overthrown by the EDSA Revolution, bringing Corazon Aquino and Salvador Laurel to power.
RA 6635	October 23, 1972	Revision of the Tariffs and Customs Code of the Philippines
RA 6636	November 6, 1987	Resetting the Local Elections from November 9, 1987 to January 18, 1988.
RA 6639	November 27, 1987	Changed the name of Manila International Airport to Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
RA 6645	December 28, 1987	Prescribes the manner in how to fill a vacancy in the Congress of the Philippines.
RA 6709	February 10, 1989	Declared November 5 as a non-working holiday for the province of Negros Occidental to commemorate Cinco de Noviembre, the day Negros became free.
RA 6734	August 1, 1989	Created the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which was officially inaugurated on November 6, 1990 in Cotabato City.
RA 6735	August 4, 1989	Set up a system of initiative and referendum.
RA 6766	October 23, 1989	Provided for an Organic Act for the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). It mandates the creation of an autonomous government to be headed by a Regional Governor. It creates a Regional Assembly that will enact laws of regional application and a regional judiciary composed of a supreme court and lower courts.
RA 7042	June 13, 1991	Foreign Investments Act of 1991
RA 7104	August 14, 1991	Commission on the Filipino Language Act
RA 7156	September 12, 1991	Mini-Hydro Law
RA 7160	October 10, 1991	"Local Government Code of 1991."
RA 7653	June 14, 1993	The New Central Bank Act
RA 7638	December 9, 1994	Charter of the Department of Energy
RA 7648	April 5, 1993	Electric Power Crisis Act
RA 7832	December 8, 1994	"Anti-electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of 1994" / an act penalizing the pilferage of electricity and theft of power transmission lines/materials, rationalizing system losses by phasing out pilferage losses as a component thereof, and for other purposes.
RA 7878	February 14, 1995	Divided Kalinga-Apayao into Kalinga and Apayao provinces.
RA 8171	October 23, 1995	"An act providing for the repatriation of Filipino women who have lost their Philippine citizenship by marriage to aliens and natural-born Filipinos."
RA 8179	March 28, 1996	"An act further liberalizing foreign investments, amending for the purpose Republic Act No. 7042, and for other purposes."
RA 8223	December 8, 1996	Converted the municipality of Marikina, Metro Manila into a city.
RA 8293	June 6, 1997	The Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (Philippine copyright law).
RA 8353	September 30, 1997	The Anti-Rape Law of 1997.
RA 8438	December 22, 1997	Created the Cordillera Autonomous Region. A plebiscite, held on March 9, 1998 to ratify the bill, was held and invalidated the act. See Cordillera Administrative Region.
RA 8470	January 31, 1998	Split the province of Davao into two, creating the province of Compostela Valley.
RA 8471	January 31, 1998	Created the Island Garden City of Samal in Davao province by combining the municipalities of Samal, Babak, and Kaputian.
RA 8472	January 31, 1998	Converted the municipality of Tagum, the capital of Davao, into a city.
RA 8473	January 31, 1998	Created the municipality of Braulio E. Dujali, Davao out of several barangays in Panabo and Carmen.
RA 8479	February 10, 1998	"Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998" / An act deregulating the downstream oil industry and for other purposes
RA 8491	February 12, 1998	Prescribed the code of the national flag, anthem, motto, coat-of-arms and other heraldic items and devices of the Philippines.
RA 8535	February 23, 1998	Provided for the creation of the City of Novaliches comprising the 15 northernmost barangays of Quezon City. However, in the succeeding plebiscite on October 23, 1999, an overwhelming majority of Quezon City residents voted “no” to the bill.
RA 8749	June 23, 1999	"Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999" / An act providing for a Comprehensive Air Pollution Control Policy and for Other Purposes
RA 8797	September 10, 2000	Converted the municipality of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan into a city. Became the First City of Bulacan
RA 8981	December 5, 2000	"PRC Modernization Act Of 2000" / An act providing for the modernization of the Professional Regulation Commission.
RA 9006	February 12, 2001	"Fair Election Act of 2001" / An act to enhance the holding of free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible elections through fair election practices.
RA 9015	March 5, 2001	Converted the municipality of Panabo, Davao into a city.
RA 9136	June 8, 2001	"Electric Power Industry Reforms Act of 2001" / An act ordaining reforms in the electric power industry, amending for the purpose certain laws and for other purposes
RA 9139	June 8, 2001	"The Administrative Naturalization Law of 2000"
RA 9160	September 29, 2001	"Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001". Subsequent foreign pressure by the FATF and by other nations resulted in this act being amended.
RA 9164	March 19, 2002	"Synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections"
RA 9165	June 7, 2002	"Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002"
RA 9179	November 13, 2002	"Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBE's) Act of 2002."
RA 9189	February 13, 2003	"Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003" / An act providing for a system of overseas absentee voting by qualified citizens of the Philippines abroad, appropriating funds therefor, and for other purposes
RA 9208	May 26, 2003	"Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003" / An act providing for policies to eliminate and punish human trafficking, especially women and children, establishing the necessary institutional mechanisms for the protection and support of trafficked persons.
RA 9225	August 29, 2003	"Citizenship Retention and Re-Acquisition Act of 2003" / An act making the citizenship of Philippine citizens who acquire foreign citizenship permanent, amending for the purpose Commonwealth Act No. 63, as amended, and for other purposes.
RA 9262	March 8, 2004	Inspired by the life of Dolores Lorenzo, this act gives the protection of the law to women and children suffering from domestic abuse.
RA 9334	December 21, 2004	An act increasing the excise tax rates imposed on alcohol and tobacco products, amending for the purpose sections 131, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, and 288 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended. Also known as the "sin tax" law.
RA 9335	January 25, 2005	"Lateral Attrition Act of 2005" / an act to improve the revenue collection performance of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) through the creation of a rewards and incentives fund and of a revenue performance evaluation board and for other purposes
RA 9337	May 24, 2005	An act amending sections 27, 28, 34, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 116, 117, 119, 121, 148, 151, 236, 237 and 288 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended, and for other purposes. Also known as the "expanded value-added tax" or the "E-VAT" law.
RA 9340	May 25, 2005	"Synchronized Barangay and Sangguiniang Kabataan Elections Resetting" / An act resetting the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, extending the term of officeof Barangay and Sangguiniang Kabataan Officials and for other purposes.
RA 9346	June 24, 2006	The act repealing the death penalty, replacing the sentence with the sentence of life imprisonment and reclusión perpetua.
RA 9367	January 12, 2007	"Biofuels Act of 2006" / An act to direct the use of Biofuels, establishing for this purpose the Biofuel Program, appropriating funds therefor, and for other purposes.
RA 9369	January 23, 2007	"Amending the Election Modernization Act" / An act amending Republic Act No. 8436, Entitled "An Act Authorizing The Commission on Elections to use an Automated Election System in the May 11, 1998 National or Local Elections and in Subsequent National and Local Electoral Exercises, to Encourage Transparency, Credibility, Fairness and Accuracy of Elections, amending for the purpose Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, as amemded, Republic Act No. 7166 and other related elections laws, providing funds therefor and for other purposes
RA 9371	February 22, 2007	An act dividing the Lone District of Cagayan de Oro City into two districts, with the Cagayan de Oro River as a natural boundary.
RA 9372	March 6, 2007	The Human Security Act of 2007
RA 9492	July 25, 2007	The act that mandates the celebration of certain public holidays to the nearest weekday. Also known as the holiday economics law.
RA 9500	April 29, 2008	The University of the Philippines Charter of 2008. Declaring it as the National University.
RA 9999	February 23, 2010	Free Legal Assistance Act
RA 10000	February 23, 2010	The Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act.

wonders

Scientists have discovered a fish living in forest swamps on the Indonesian island of Sumatra that is only 7.9mm long.

The species of fish belongs to the carp family and is called Paedocypris progenetica . It is the world's smallest vertebrate or backboned animal.

World's smallest vertebrate is a member of the carp family of fish. © Maurice Kottelat, Cornol /Raffles Museum

Living in acid

The tiny, see-through Paedocypris fish have the appearance of larvae and have a reduced head skeleton, which leaves the brain unprotected by bone.

They live in dark tea-coloured waters with an acidity of pH3, which is at least 100 times more acidic than rainwater.

'This is one of the strangest fish that I've seen in my whole career', said Ralf Britz, zoologist at the Natural History Museum.

'It's tiny, it lives in acid and it has these bizarre grasping fins. I hope we'll have time to find out more about them before their habitat disappears completely.'

Threatened swamps

The swamps were once thought to harbour very few animals, but recent research has revealed that they are highly diverse and home to many species that occur nowhere else.

In 1997 the peat swamps were damaged by large forest fires and they are still threatened by logging, urbanisation and agriculture. Several populations of Paedocypris have already been lost

The dwarf pygmy goby (Pandaka pygmaea) is a tropical freshwater fish of the family Gobiidae. It is one of the smallest fish in the world by mass, and is also one of the shortest freshwater fish. Mature males can reach up to 1.1 cm, while the females can grow up to 1.5 cm. Average weight is from 4 to 5 mg. It is known as bia and tabios in the Philippines.

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