- clause
- clause clause [klɔːz ǁ klɒːz] noun [countable]LAW COMMERCE a part of a written law, contract, or legal document that deals with a particular item or subject:
• Clause 12 enables the Secretary of State to make orders to protect pension rights.
a clause in an insurance agreement that says that someone can pass their rights to another person or companyˈaverage clauseINSURANCE LAW a condition set by an insurer that a payment for damage or loss will be in proportion to the value insured. For example, if a building worth £100,000 but insured for £50,000 is totally destroyed, the insurers will only pay £25,000a clause in a contract that allows you to end the contract early, for example in a contract for using a building or a piece of landˈbreakdown ˌclauseCOMMERCE TRANSPORT LAW a condition in a contract, saying that someone who pays to use a ship, aircraft, vehicle, or piece of machinery will not have to pay any money during any period of time when the ship, aircraft etc is not working properlyˈcommerce ˌclauseECONOMICS LAW a clause in the US constitution, giving Congress the authority to control business, labour, and farming that takes place between the different states of the US:• Discrimination against waste from other states violates the interstate commerce clause of the American Constitution.
confidentiˈality ˌclauseHUMAN RESOURCES LAW a clause, especially in a contract of employment, that says you must not give other people or companies private information about your employer's activities:• He had breached the terms of a confidentiality clause in his agreement.
continuˈation ˌclause INSURANCEa clause in an insurance policy by which insurance cover will continue after the end of the policy until a new one is paid forenˈabling ˌclauseLAW part of a new law or bill that gives officials the power to start using the new law and to make sure it is obeyed:• The enabling clause allows the local authorities to make the necessary provision for new housing, including places for the homeless.
ˈescalator ˌclauseCOMMERCE part of a contract that states that a price or other quantity may be increased if certain conditions occur:• Canada proposed an escalator clause for an airline to increase services if its aircraft were more than 65% full.
esˈcape ˌclauseCOMMERCE LAW part of a contract that states that someone is no longer bound by a particular part of a contract if certain conditions occur:• The wage deal has an escape clause: companies may pay their workers less if they exercise a `hardship clause'.
• Does a gagging clause in my contract of employment prevent me from blowing the whistle on my employer?
another name for an escape clause:• The club has revealed that their director of football has a get-out clause in his contract allowing him to leave if he is offered an international position.
ˈgrandfather ˌclauseCOMMERCE a clause in a new rule stating that a person or business already doing the activity covered by the rule does not have to follow it:• The new rule has a good chance of winning approval because it has a generous grandfather clause.
ˈobjects ˌclausethe clause in a company's memorandum of association (= a document giving all the details of a new company when it is formed), listing the things that the company will do, including the types of goods and services that it will deal with:• The objects clause did not provide for the construction and running of railway systems, only for the manufacture of railway equipment.
ˈpenalty ˌclauseCOMMERCE LAW a condition in a contract that says what will happen if one of the people or organizations involved does not do what the contract states they should:• The defendants were liable to a penalty clause in the main contract if the work was not completed on time.
— see also Institute Clauses* * *
clause UK US /klɔːz/ noun [C] LAW► a part of a written legal agreement that deals with a particular subject: »See clause 8.2(b) of the standard sale agreement.
»Rules and location for resolving disputes are outlined under the contract's arbitration clause.
add/remove/include a clause »Some companies will insure you, but will add a clause excluding any flood claims.
→ See also ASSIGNMENT CLAUSE(Cf. ↑assignment clause), AVERAGE CLAUSE(Cf. ↑average clause), BREAK CLAUSE(Cf. ↑break clause), BREAKDOWN CLAUSE(Cf. ↑breakdown clause), COMMERCE CLAUSE(Cf. ↑commerce clause), CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSE(Cf. ↑confidentiality clause), CONTINUATION CLAUSE(Cf. ↑continuation clause), ENABLING CLAUSE(Cf. ↑enabling clause), ESCALATOR CLAUSE(Cf. ↑escalator clause), ESCAPE CLAUSE(Cf. ↑escape clause), GAGGING CLAUSE(Cf. ↑gagging clause), GET-OUT CLAUSE(Cf. ↑get-out clause), GRANDFATHER CLAUSE(Cf. ↑grandfather clause), OBJECTS CLAUSE(Cf. ↑objects clause), PENALTY CLAUSE(Cf. ↑penalty clause), SUNSET CLAUSE(Cf. ↑sunset clause)
Financial and business terms. 2012.