Also known as: aide-mémoire · aides-mémoire · aides-mémoires · memorandum · diplomatic note
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A diplomatic document that a diplomatic agent leaves with the receiving state's department of foreign affairs on the occasion of a demarche. The document presents the receiving state with a precise record of the substance of the diplomatic agent's mission. It is typically written in an impersonal style, without mentioning either the addressee or the author.
A diplomatic document that a diplomatic agent leaves with the receiving state's department of foreign affairs on the occasion of a demarche. The document presents the receiving state with a precise record of the substance of the diplomatic agent's mission. It is typically written in an impersonal style, without mentioning either the addressee or the author.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A written record or note that captures the essential terms of an agreement. Such a document may satisfy the Statute of Frauds when signed by the party to be charged, even if made before or after contract formation or signed by fewer than all parties.
Antonio Alvarado promised his late father's estate creditor that he would personally pay a debt if the estate could not. No signed aide-memoire existed. When the creditor sued Antonio, the court held the promise unenforceable under the Statute of Frauds because no written memorandum satisfied the executor-administrator provision.
A written record or note that captures the essential terms of an agreement. Such a document may satisfy the Statute of Frauds when signed by the party to be charged, even if made before or after contract formation or signed by fewer than all parties.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
The President issued a memorandum directing state courts to reopen cases involving Vienna Convention violations. Without implementing legislation, the courts refused. The aide-memoire lacked domestic legal effect because the treaty was non-self-executing.
After a bench trial, the judge issued findings of fact and conclusions of law in an aide-memoire filed with the clerk. The document satisfied Rule 52 because it separately stated the facts found and the legal conclusions reached on the record.
Aisha Ahmed and Albert Allen reached an oral suretyship agreement. Only Aisha signed the aide-memoire listing the essential terms. When the creditor sued, the court enforced the contract against Aisha but not against Albert because the memorandum was signed by fewer than all parties.
Abigail Alvarez and Adrian Aguilar formed an oral land-sale contract. Months later Abigail prepared and signed an aide-memoire reciting the price, parcel, and parties. The court held the writing sufficient to satisfy the Statute of Frauds even though it was created after formation.
A jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that Audrey Ashton had brandished a firearm during a robbery. The trial judge could not increase the sentence on the basis of an aide-memoire prepared by the court. The sentence complied with the requirement that any fact increasing the penalty be submitted to the jury.
No. A memorandum sufficient to satisfy the Statute may be made or signed at any time before or after the formation of the contract, including after breach.
Where a memorandum of a contract within the Statute is signed by fewer than all parties and the Statute is not otherwise satisfied, the contract is enforceable against the signers but not against the others.
The Statute of Frauds applies to contracts of executors to answer for duties of decedents, suretyship contracts, and other enumerated classes, forbidding enforcement unless a written memorandum exists or an exception applies.
…beyond its initial passage of the Reorganization Act." S. Rep. No. 232, 81st Cong., 1st Sess., 20 (1949) (Dept. of Justice Memorandum). This also represents the position of the Attorney General more recently.[^maj-22] Thus understood, § 244(c)(2) fully effectuates the purposes of the bicameralism and presentment…