A statute of frauds is a state law that requires certain contracts be written and signed by contracting parties. The legal principle was adopted in the United States as unwritten, but it has not been formalized in many states (Chen, 2019). Currently, the binding contract can either be in written form or be in oral form. However, oral contracts are unenforceable in some states unless there is a writing that evidences the contractual agreement. The writing serves as proof of the agreement irrespective of whether it is formal or not. Arguably every each and every state have some type of statute of frauds which binds contracting parties as well as serves to act as an assurance for contracting parties against any fraudulent activities or behaviors (Chen, 2019) This legal principle originated in the 17 th century, so does it still makes sense in today’s commercial world?
The statute of fraud is still applicable in today’s world. The legal principles still serve its purpose. Despite originating in the 1600s, courts still use it today to determine what is contractually binding or not. Primarily, the United States adopted this legal principle as a common concept –that is, as unwritten law but has now undergone adjustments to make the legal principle more applicable. One of the adjustment that was made is that everything has to be in writing in the case of agreements or contracts with multiple witnesses.
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For instance, there are many states that have enforced this legal principled, based on federal coders. The Universal Commercial Code (UCC) is a good example of such codes. The UCC has been adopted in many states in the United States. The USS is a standardized set of business laws that regulate financial contracts.
References
Chen, J. (2019). Statute of Frauds. [Online]. Retrieved from: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/statute-of-frauds.asp . Accessed 25 th August 2019.
