In the Hebrew Scriptures, the agreement between God and his chosen people which was the basis of Jewish religion; especially identified with the giving of the law to Moses on Mt Sinai, but preceded by covenants with Noah and Abraham. Some New Testament writers portray the death of Jesus as a ‘new covenant’.
This article is about legal and historical covenants.More specifically, a covenant, in contrast to a contract, is a one-way agreement whereby the covenantor is the only party bound by the promise.
The covenant is an important concept in Jewish and Christian thinking, derived in the first instance from the biblical covenant tradition.
Historical Covenants
Historically, certain treaties and compacts have been given the name of covenant, most notably the Solemn League and Covenant that marked the Covenanters, a Protestant political organization important in the history of Scotland.
Other important documents that have been given the name 'covenant' include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Palestinian National Covenant.
Legal Covenants
Under the common law a covenant was distinguished from an ordinary contract by the presence of a seal. Because the presence of a seal indicated an unusual solemnity in the promises made in a covenant, the common law would enforce a covenant even in the absence of consideration.
In contemporary practice in the USA, a covenant typically refers to restrictions set on contracts like deeds of sale. "Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions," abbreviated "CC&Rs," is a common term for covenants attached to a contract of sale for a house, condominium, or cooperative, particularly in the tens of millions of American homes governed by a Homeowners' Association (HOA) or condominium association.
In the 1920s and 1930s, covenants that restricted the sale of property on the basis of race, ethnicity, and religion were common throughout the USA, particularly in the South.
User Comments Add a comment…