View source for With respect to

{{pe}}“[[With respect to]]” (aka “[[in respect of]]”) is a {{tag|compound preposition}}, like “[[in relation to]]” or “[[in connection with]]” that puts two things loosely in connection with each other, without implying a causal link between them. It’s — literally — a ''meta''preposition. Very meta.

A good one to use if your [[Mediocre lawyer|natural fear of your own language]] cautions you against stronger, less mealy-mouthed [[preposition|prepositions]], that ''do'' imply a causal link between subject and object, like “in”, “[[under]]”, “[[arising out of]]” or “from”. If you use one of these, there is always the chance — [[Chicken-licken|the sky might fall in on your head]], of course — that you might have missed something.

The classic formulation is found in the standard [[Rome II]]-compliant [[governing law]] clause: “[[In the event of]] a dispute [[arising out of]] ''or [[in relation to]]'' this {{tag|contract}}, [[including]] any question regarding its existence, validity or termination ...”

This captures not just disputes in contract ''[[under]]'' this agreement, but disputes that might arise as to the formation of this agreement (pre-contractual [[Misrepresentation|misrepresentations]], for example — whcih as a matter of logic predate the {{tag|contract}}, and therefore cannot arise “[[under]]” it), and disputes about actions, while performed under a contract, might all the same sound in tort (should there be found to be concurrent liability — a remote contingency, to be sure, but our sacred duty is to obsess about remote contingencies, remember?).

{{loose prepositional phrases}}

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*[[Governing law]]
*{{gmsla}}
*{{gmslaprov|Income}}
*[[Preposition]]

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