Corporate & Securities Law

Defining ?Government Body?

By Ken Adams

I interrupt my August recess to consult you all on how I should define “Government Body”. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

?Government Body? means (1) the government of any nation or of any political subdivision of any nation, (2) any official or instrumentality of any such government (including any court), (3) any other person or entity authorized by any such government to perform executive, legislative, or judicial functions, (4) any intergovernmental organization, and (5) any arbitration panel.

This concept is articulated countless different ways in contracts, and as usual I aimed to eliminate clutter.

I used government rather than governmental as the adjective for the same reason that I prefer using contract rather than contractual as an adjective. (See here.) And I opted for body rather than authority because it seemed simpler and clearer. Authority can refer to both the power to do something and an agency?two very different things.

It would be too tedious for me to attempt to explain the basis for the different elements in my definition. Instead, I’ll respond to any comments.

Full post as published by AdamsDrafting on August 20, 2009 (boomark / email).