The adjective unilateral is used to describe that which is linked to or affects a single part or dimension of something . The term can also refer to what is located only on one side .
A unilateral contract , in this framework, establishes obligations for only one of the parties . When the contract produces reciprocal obligations for both parties, it is a bilateral contract .
An example of a unilateral contract is the bailment . In this case, one of the parties (the bailor ) grants another (the bailor ) a non-fungible asset to use and then return it in the same conditions.
As can be seen, bailment is a unilateral contract: the obligation is for the bailor, who must return the property at the end of the contract. The grantor, for his part, maintains the property throughout the agreement.
This type of unilateral contract is very common in the telecommunications market, especially in the field of Internet services : companies give their clients a router on loan so that they can enjoy it throughout the entire duration of the contract; However, upon completion they must return it in perfect condition. In addition to this device, antennas are also usually delivered with the same obligation to return them once the commercial relationship has ended.
Another type of unilateral contract is the donation contract . Under these agreements, one individual transfers ownership of an asset to another, free of charge. There is a transfer of ownership without any consideration.
At first glance, the donation may appear to be of a different type than the bailment, since there is no obligation to return the assets delivered by the donor. However, since obligations are not established for both parties, it cannot be bilateral. The person receiving the donation should not do anything about it, give money or comply with any protocol other than that appropriate to the circumstances of receiving a gift.
Unilateral is also what one of the parties decides without consulting the other and without waiting for their consent or endorsement . Therefore, when a territory becomes independent before reaching an agreement with the entity from which it separates, it is called a unilateral declaration of independence .
Venezuela, Chili, Argentina y otros countries sudamericanos, en este marco, se declararon independientes de forma unilateral en el 19th century. Así rompieron lazos con Spain sin aguardar la aceptación de la potencia europea.
In the field of feelings, we talk about unilateral love , a concept that serves to define those unbalanced relationships in which only one of the parties falls in love with the other. The stage in which we usually experience this for the first time is adolescence, when we fall in love with someone who either has no interest in us or wants nothing more than a friendship. It can also occur in adulthood, although experience should prepare us to avoid this bad taste.
No matter how hard specialists in any field try, love seems to be impossible to predict and define. It surprises us when we least expect it and puts us at the mercy of another person, who is not always the one who can do the best for us. Far from being able to control our actions or our words, we begin to clumsily revolve around her, dreaming day and night of that magical moment in which she shows us that she feels the same way about us.
Requited love, that promised land of the adolescent that most of the time does not arrive on the first try. However, as we grow, we should learn to avoid these harsh disappointments by approaching candidates we consider more attainable.