What is the meaning of:
“COUNTERPART EXECUTION”?
No, “counterpart execution” is not a method of capital punishment.
Basically, this phrase means “each party who wants to be bound by an agreement (a) signs separate but identical copies of the agreement, (b) the parties then exchange the signed copies, and (c) the two copies – each containing just one signature – together are considered a single binding agreement.”
The best part about “counterpart execution” is that the parties to the agreement don’t have to be in the same place at the same time to achieve a fully-signed agreement.
If you don’t use “counterpart execution,” how would you get Party A, who is in North America, and Party B, who is in Asia, to sign the same agreement? The most common – and difficult – ways would be to either
(1) have both A and B travel to the same location, or
(2) send two copies to Party A, have him/her sign them both, and then have Party A send them both to Party B, who would sign them both and send one fully-signed copy back to Party A.
Both methods are slow, wasteful, and more complicated than “counterpart execution.”
It is wise to put a provision into agreements that permits “counterpart execution,” so that this easier method of signing is clearly acceptable to both parties.
© 2015 Alan L. Sklover. All Rights Reserved. Commercial Use Strictly Prohibited