Are Handshakes Legally Binding?

The world of business contracts and law may seem to be a billion light years from the days when cavemen signed contracts with the shake of a hand, but in reality, that ancient custom is pretty much the same still. Human curiosity about observable patterns in the galaxy suggests that if we were to: 1) come into contact with alien beings, 2) recognize them as such, 3) become able to communicate effectively with them, we would find some form of government or society and legal system: -there is no doubt, at that point, the integration of extraterrestrial beings into our modern human society would be underway.

In this spirit, we approach the world of verbally expressed contracts and the age-old question, “Are handshakes legally binding?” with an eye toward how that question could be viewed from a cosmic point of view in the even wider context of observable life in the universe.

Verbal contracts have been part of human culture for countless generations. They are important enough in humanity’s recorded past to be mentioned in the Bible and have been a part of legal systems for several thousand years:

A verbal contract, colloquially referred to as a verbal agreement or a handshake agreement, is an agreement between two parties in which the terms of the contract are expressed orally, usually without any written agreement. Even US laws require the following conditions in order for an oral agreement to be taken seriously in case of a verbal contract dispute:

When the parties involved can prove that their verbal agreement met those requirements, it would be considered legally binding in the same way that written contracts are.

This basic definition of oral contracts, however, is just the tip of the iceberg; the whole issue of contract law should be considered in the context of how human beings have developed government systems over the ages. Then think of how aliens and other cultures might define laws and contracts as well.

If we come into contact with a superior alien society, how would they view human interactions in terms of contracts? What concepts like comprehensive handshake agreements might they have? Are there parallels between alien cultures and human culture that would make contract law similar on both societies? Or in some cases, might there be deeper things that would make contracts across different worlds and cultures completely different?

Given how complex this question is, we would first turn to a comparison of verbal contracts and non-verbal contracts across differing cultures (this includes several Native American tribes, such as the Arnott and the Puni) here on earth. This could provide a medium of comprehension for how alien cultures might understand the “concept” of a contract and the question of whether or not handshakes are legally binding.

For example, conspicuous gestures like the shoulder shrug and wrist twist are considered important in the Puni culture as the main ways they express themselves, not just casually, but also in the context of important social and legal matters. If Puni culture were more widely known to humanity, western courts and lawyers might interpret any of these gestures as different forms of contracts (again, this is filtered through the lens of a human culture) or at least a “concept” of a contract or a religious or cultural understand of a contract’s importance.

Here on Earth, we may not need to have variations in a contract concept as profound as the Puni culture for oral contracts to be taken seriously in law. Yet the Puni culture highlights an important idea; that contracts are intrinsically human or are otherwise learned and absorbed by human culture, just as a language is learned by children and becomes part of their own personal world.

To put it another way, contracts are part of our culture and environment, just like gravitational pull or light, and therefore, if Aliens learned about the word “contract” or phrase “are handshakes legally binding” from us, they would begin their understanding of it by filtering it through and interpreting it through their own unique cultural environment.

Let’s take this a bit further. Consider the concept of alien customs. Under what circumstances would a handshake agreement be an appropriate way to express what we now consider a written contract (as a means of example)? What would been the custom for an alien that uses form of communication so different from ours that the equivalent to a handshake would be a practice like a forehead touch or other facial interaction or gesture?

It’s interesting to think about, but while we’re examining this this kind of detail about the human expression of contracts across various cultures and how the concept might be interpreted by Aliens, let’s consider one more question; how do aliens and other cultures interpret the act of agreement and commitment. To some aliens, the question of “are handshakes legally binding” might be sweet fruit picked from an alien tree; something profound, mature and delicious with an unusual texture. For others, it might be an abrasive and frustrating experience and for others, it would be something else. Understanding the concepts of another culture is part of the art of understanding global cultures here on Earth and what we can learn from these cultures can also be applied here on Earth in a tuition-free classroom that extends across the cosmos.

Can we create a singular universal language that would allow communication across cosmic distances? Can we integrate aliens into our culture or vice versa? How would aliens define the very idea of a contract? Are these important questions that need answers when considering mankind’s views of aliens and life beyond Earth? Not necessarily. The human experience, after all, will always be as individual and unique as the stars scattered across the universe.