Global Ambassadors for Patient Safety Toolkit

Developing Contracts & Agreements

Domestic or International Contracts

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When contracting with other US organizations, it is important to assure that the organization you are contracting with has the capacity to develop good international contracts with any host sites. This means they have some experience working in international environments, and are familiar with the legal systems in those countries.

While English is the lingua franca of international business, it is still important to be able to negotiate in a common language. It is also essential to identify any contract language requirements of another country. Some countries will not honor a contract if it is not also in the language considered the legal language of that country. The Association of Corporate Counsel identifies some very useful tips with drafting and negotiating international contracts.

If using just English raises concerns, have the parties waive the right to claim the contract is invalid because it's in English, or enter into dual-language contracts, with English as the governing language, or do both.

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