The above paragraph consists of two sentences. The draftsman used so many words in the two sentences to make the Agreement accurate and prevent misunderstanding.
2. Statement & Full Sentence
In communication, statements are chiefly used to state a fact or non-fact that is to affirm or negate something. Thus, statements may be divided into positive statements and negative statements. A full sentence is a sentence with an expressed subject and predicate. This kind of sentence is mostly used in formal speech and writing. Legal documents stipulate the rights and obligations of the signatory parties instead of proposing questions or carrying out negotiation, that is to say, legal documents stipulate what is to be done. In order to make the stipulations in the legal documents clear without being twisted, the full sentences are often used. Legal documents of business English are generally made up of statements and full sentences. Here are some examples:
This Article is without prejudice to the second Supplementary Provision to Paragraph One of Article VI in Annex I to GATT 1994.
Article 29 of the same law provides that, “After the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board has made the final decision maintaining or canceling the registered trademark, it shall notify the parties interested in writing.”
3. Subject Clauses Introduced by Anticipatory “it”
The draftsmen sometimes adopt subject clauses introduced by anticipatory “it” in legal documents of business English. “Anticipatory it” commonly occurs in sentences with a nominal clause as subject or object. The subject or object clause is usually shifted to the end of the sentence, leaving the vacancy to be filled in by an anticipatory it. Things are more complicated with subject clauses introduced by it. Sentences have got it in the subject slot and the real subject clause is moved to the latter part of the sentence. You may choose to move the subject clause back to the beginning of the sentence or leave it where it is. Some of the examples are listed below:
It is mutually agreed that the contracts concluded in accordance with Article V of this Protocol may continue to be in force until the expiry of their respective terms of validity even after the termination of this Protocol.
It is stipulated that the certificate of quality and quantity or weight issued by the Manufacturer shall be part of the documents to be presented to the paying bank for negotiation of payment.
4. The Frequent Use of Adverbials &Adverbial Clauses of Condition
An adverbial is a clause element. Adverbials fall into three categories: adjuncts, disjuncts, and conjuncts. Strictly speaking, it is only the first category — the adjunct — that can be rightly labeled an adverbial, which is generally treated as one of the five elements of a clause. Semantically, adjuncts may denote time, place, manner, purpose, cause, result, condition, concession, and accompanying circumstances. A legal document of business English, when setting forth rights or obligations, must exactly point out that in what instances, at what point of time, in what place or in what manner an action can be undertaken. This requires adverbials of time, place, condition, concession, manner, etc. Adverbials are used as a means of clarifying meaning and avoiding ambiguity. Examples are: