Easenglish

For long, "shall" has been the favorite of lawyers. Its use in legislation and in legal documents is all pervasive. As a young lawyer puts it :" one of the first things drilled into me was that “shall” is the most important modal verb to refer to future action and is the word to be used when imposing a mandatory obligation."

Here are some examples of different contexts in which “shall” is frequently used in language of the law:

To impose a duty (“The Company shall maintain quality standards…”)
To grant a right (“The Buyer shall have the right to cancel the purchase transaction…”)
To give a direction (“The shipment of the products from the port shall be deemed as delivery of the products to the purchaser.”)
To negate a duty or discretion (“The Company shall not be required to produce copy of the specifications.”)
To negate a right (“Such statement shall be deemed to be correct and shall be binding on the Applicant.”)
To express intention (“The manufacturing plant when established shall be deemed to be part of the assets of the joint venture.”)
To create a condition subsequent (“If the products shall not have been delivered on or before December 31, 2020, then this purchase order shall stand cancelled.”)
To state or declare a fact (“Company shall mean ABC Limited.”)
To express the future (“This Agreement shall terminate on the sale of the warehouse.”)