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Securely exchange anything, anywhere, with anyone.

Contracts Specification

The goal of these specifications is to define the possible terms of a contract using an XML schema

Currently, the SXP Contract Specification Schema is based in Legal XML eContracts (see below). This page is for presenting the different XML existing formats and discussing the theme associated to the specification of contracts.

Existing XML standards for describing contracts

  • Legal XML eContracts (OASIS Standard).

Legal XML is an XML schema for describing the generic structure of a wide range of contract documents.

This standard uses basic building blocks called items, for the description of the classical notions of clauses or sections. It also uses blocks called party, date, party-signature. Then it encloses these informations under the tags contract-front, body and back, emulating the structure of a real paper-based contract.

More detailed description at the eContracts Specification 1.0.

  • Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language (ebXML).

ebXML is a family of XML standards that provides an infrastructure for electronic bussiness. It is also developed by OASIS.

In ebXML, contracts are not defined in a single document — instead , the trading partners may form a contract by exchanging requesting documents constituting binding offers, and responding documents constituting binding acceptances, resulting in a demonstrably successful or failed negotiation of the business terms proposed in the offer.

For more information, read the E-Commerce Patterns v1.0 Technichal Report, from the ebXML specification.

  • Financial Product Markup Language (FpML).

FpML is a XML standard for describing over-the-counter derivatives (financial instruments negotiated directly between two parties).

  • eLEGAL.

eLEGAL defines a framework for legal conditions and contracts regarding the use of information and communication technologies in project business.

Adopting an XML standard for SXP

As said above, the current version of SXP Contract Specification is an extension of Legal XML Contract. The reason is that this standard is more flexible and allows us to define contracts forcing the user to fill out the obligatory clauses, while he can add more clauses if necessary.

Trying to use the ebXML definitions of contract could be less suitable, unless we adopted the whole ebXML specification for the interchange. Still, ebXML specification is intended to be used in normal buy/sell actions, not interchanges as we want in SXP.

Further reading