It may be the closest we can collectively come to punishment, where the criminal law and contractual pension rights don't offer means of revenge.

BBC: Fred Goodwin: A very British humiliation

Thus, in a typical analysis, the lawyer is focused on a fact-specific transaction and would analyze each and every duty or obligation imposed by law and determine what must be done to comply and what must be avoided so as not to breach some duty imposed by statute, regulation, common law, or the contractual obligations underlying the transaction itself.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Shariah��s Black Box

But in these other areas, international law is more akin to contractual agreements, in which benefits are reciprocal and national sovereignty remains largely unaffected.

ECONOMIST: A survey of human-rights law

Workers have been emboldened by a law introduced in January 2008 aimed at strengthening their contractual rights.

ECONOMIST: Unions in China

Their new assertiveness may reflect a labour law introduced in January 2008, which gave workers more contractual rights.

ECONOMIST: China's labour market

The law also criminalizes what had been civil claims, such as alleged contractual violations of a site's terms of use.

WSJ: Crovitz: Toward Rivals, It's Craigslitigious

Second, as with municipal bankruptcy, a new bankruptcy law would allow states in default or in danger of default to reorganize their finances free from their union contractual obligations.

FORBES: Is State Bankruptcy The Next Wave in Public Employee Union Busting?