Gentlemans Agreement - Essay Example

The Law Encyclopedia (2008, pg. 1) says that "Although agreements between individuals often create legally binding commitments, instances may arise in which mutual promises yield no legally enforceable agreement.

Sometimes called "gentlemen's agreements," parties may honor them because moral obligations compel observance or because future relations will be more difficult if the present arrangement is broken. International organizations likewise may depend on such informal arrangements so as to maintain comity among members" and that "Occasionally the enabling treaties that create an international organization will leave some procedural or voting matter unresolved. Rather than amend the formal document, which is usually a difficult task, an informal working agreement will develop to resolve a particular problem.

As long as the consensus holds to honor the informal agreement, there is no need to embody it into a legal document." Merriam-Webster (2008, pg. 1) defines the term as "an agreement secured only by the honor of the participants." The most common instances of these occurrences occur between friends and business associates. It takes a great deal of trust to enter into such an agreement since there is no legal protection if one party does not follow through. For example, if somebody who owns a house offers a friend a room to rent, but then another tenant moves in, this is an example of a gentleman's agreement that has been broken.

The term has a negative connotation to it for that very purpose. There are literally tons of examples that one could come up with, but a few will be named here. An oral agreement between friends to purchase a bicycle, a person purchasing furniture from his boss with no contract, and an oral promise to invest in a new business with someone.ConclusionThe purpose of this paper has been to give an example of a gentleman's agreement, apply this concept to different types of people, and use specific examples and explanations to illustrate the point.

Definitions, examples, and illustrations of this informal agreement have been given in the paper above. According to Encyclopedia Britannica (2008, pg. 1), gentleman's agreements are "an agreement secured only by the honor of the participants.