Klauzula

Klauzula is a term used in Polish that refers to a provision or condition in legal documents, or to a grammatical unit in linguistics. In law and contracts, a klauzula is a clause that specifies rights, obligations, conditions, or remedies of the parties. It may address terms such as payment, confidentiality, liability, termination, governing law, or dispute resolution. Clauses can be express or implied, mandatory or optional, and may be standard boilerplate or specifically negotiated. Some clauses are severable, others are dependent on other provisions. Interpreting a clause requires considering its wording, the purpose of the contract, and the surrounding circumstances; courts may apply rules of construction to resolve ambiguity.

In linguistics, klauzula means a clause, a grammatical unit containing a predicate and a subject, forming part of a sentence. Independent (main) clauses can stand alone, while dependent (subordinate) clauses function as part of larger structures. Subordinate clauses include relative clauses, temporal clauses, causal clauses, conditional clauses, and content clauses. The term is used in Polish grammar and in comparative studies of languages.

In everyday and legal usage, phrases such as klauzula wyłączająca odpowiedzialność (exclusion of liability clause) and klauzula arbitrażowa (arbitration clause) are common. Etymology traces klauzula to Latin clausula, via French clause, indicating a small closing provision within a larger document.