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Contract & Commercial Law vocabulary · Disputes & Arbitration

Settlement

Meaning in contract & commercial law, with examples

/ˈsetlmənt/nounCore term

In contract & commercial law, settlement means: An agreement that ends a dispute or lawsuit, usually with one party paying an agreed amount and both sides dropping their claims.

In Turkish: sulh, uzlaşma, anlaşma

How it is used

Parties 'reach a settlement' or 'settle out of court'. The terms are recorded in a settlement agreement, which often includes a release of all claims and a confidentiality clause. In banking and trade, 'settlement' also means the completion of a payment.

Example sentences

  1. The two companies reached a settlement the day before the hearing.

  2. Under the settlement agreement, the supplier will pay €400,000 in two instalments.

Common collocations

  • reach a settlement
  • settlement agreement
  • out-of-court settlement
  • settlement offer
  • negotiate a settlement
  • disputeA disagreement between parties about their rights or obligations, for example over payment, quality or the meaning of a clause.
  • mediationA way of resolving a dispute in which a neutral person, the mediator, helps the parties reach their own settlement but does not impose a decision.
  • without prejudiceA label for written or spoken settlement communications, meaning they cannot later be used as evidence in court against the party who made them.
  • litigationThe process of taking a dispute to a national court and having a judge decide it, as opposed to resolving it through arbitration or mediation.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Disputes & Arbitration

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.