如何看懂英文合同之二：英文合同的特色

1、.：.；第二章 英文合同的特征Features of English ContractsForm follows function.-motto of the Bauhaus school of architecture方式服从功能-鲍豪斯建筑学院校训与根底英语相比，作为专业性极强的言语，英文合同的用语不同于日常言语，具有显著的特点。首先，句子冗长而且复杂、似乎总也找不到句号，用词偏远，晦涩难读，不易了解。其次，英文合同中往往沿用拉丁语，法律术语，跟中文的文言文似的，着实是佶屈聱牙，令人苦楚不堪。再次，由于属于专业英语的范畴，英语合同必然涉及法律方面了解，阅读者除了言语本身的才干外，对于法律也

2、应具备一定的素质。这是一切专业英语的共性，就是需相应的专业知识，这方面本文恕不多言。下面就是Plain English Campaign直白英语运动组织所遇到的最长的英文合同的句子，有兴趣的读者无妨看看究竟是什么意思：In the event that the Purchaser defaults in the payment of any installment of purchase price, taxes, insurance, interest, or the annual charge described elsewhere herein, or shall default in

3、the performance of any other obligations set forth in this Contract, the Seller may: at his option: (a) Declare immediately due and payable the entire unpaid balance of purchase price, with accrued interest, taxes, and annual charge, and demand full payment thereof, and enforce conveyance of the lan

4、d by termination of the contract or according to the terms hereof, in which case the Purchaser shall also be liable to the Seller for reasonable attorneys fees for services rendered by any attorney on behalf of the Seller, or (b) sell said land and premises or any part thereof at public auction, in

5、such manner, at such time and place, upon such terms and conditions, and upon such public notice as the Seller may deem best for the interest of all concerned, consisting of advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or city in which the security property is located at least o

6、nce a week for Three (3) successive weeks or for such period as applicable law may require and, in case of default of any purchaser, to re-sell with such postponement of sale or resale and upon such public notice thereof as the Seller may determine, and upon compliance by the Purchaser with the term

7、s of sale, and upon judicial approval as may be required by law, convey said land and premises in fee simple to and at the cost of the Purchaser, who shall not be liable to see to the application of the purchase money; and from the proceeds of the sale: First to pay all proper costs and charges, inc

8、luding but not limited to court costs, advertising expenses, auctioneers allowance, the expenses, if any required to correct any irregularity in the title, premium for Sellers bond, auditors fee, attorneys fee, and all other expenses of sale occurred in and about the protection and execution of this

9、 contract, and all moneys advanced for taxes, assessments, insurance, and with interest thereon as provided herein, and all taxes due upon said land and premises at time of sale, and to retain as compensation a commission of five percent (5%) on the amount of said sale or sales; SECOND, to pay the w

10、hole amount then remaining unpaid of the principal of said contract, and interest thereon to date of payment, whether the same shall be due or not, it being understood and agreed that upon such sale before maturity of the contract the balance thereof shall be immediately due and payable; THIRD, to p

11、ay liens of record against the security property according to their priority of lien and to the extent that funds remaining in the hands of the Seller are available; and LAST, to pay the remainder of said proceeds, if any, to the vendor, his heirs, personals representatives, successors or assigns up

12、on the delivery and surrender to the vendee of possession of the land and premises, less costs and excess of obtaining possession.因此，国外，特别是美国要求法律文件的格式和言语该当现代化的呼声愈来愈剧烈。Robert E. Swindle早在美国1980年出版的The Business Communicator一书中就写到： . legal and quasilegal documents can and are being written in everyday

13、language. Several leading companies are rewriting their legal forms voluntarily, and the State of New York recently passed a law requiring that businesses write consumer contracts in nontechnical language. Additionally, the President of the United States has directed all administrative agencies to w

14、rite future regulations in what he termed plain English for a change. (大意是说法律和准法律性文件能用日常言语书就，而且人们也正在这样做。几家大公司自愿重新起草他们的法律文书，纽约州最近也经过一项法律，要求商业企业用非术语草拟消费者合同。另外，美国总统下令一切行政机构在出台未来的规定时要用他所称的直白英语进展变革。)而在英国也有一个成立了25年的Plain English Campaign直白英语运动组织努力于各种公文的直白英语化，而反对各种官样文章gobbledygook。1999年英国公布实施的消费者不公平术语法Unfa

15、ir Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations也要求消费者合同的术语必需用直白明了的言语plain and intelligible language,该法也要求这些术语必需是易读的，意味着要用明晰的设计和排印clear design and typography。类似的法律也在欧盟的国家适用。但 Law Dictionary的作者Steven H. Gifts在该字典的前言中感慨到“the special language of the law remains a barrier to nonlawyers. To the extent that thi

16、s promotes the economic health of the profession, maintains its aura, and prevent unauthorized practice of the law, it may be regarded as a virtue.大意是说，法律专业言语对律师以外的人士来讲，依然是一道壁垒。从促进展业经济的安康开展，保管行业特点和防止未经授权进展律师执业等方面思索，可以把这种言语壁垒看作是一种行业优势。作为非英美法系的非英语国家，面对参与WTO，全球经济一体化的严峻挑战，我们应该怎样应对纷繁复杂的英文法律文件和言语呢？虽然Plain

17、 English直白似乎是大势所趋，但万事都有个渐变的过程，年年累月沉淀下来的习惯不是一下就能改动的。拿来主义某种意义上，是必需的，所以我们首先还是应该先知晓传统的英语合同格式和用语，在知晓的根底上，才干谈得上根据实践情况进展进一步的格式和用语方面的改革，取其精华，去其糟粕，当然，这需求一个漫长的过程。以下就针对英文合同的特征分别从篇章构造、用词、句式构造以及时态四大方面进展阐明。第一节 篇章构造特点Text Structure一份完好的英文合同通常可以分为标题Title、前言(Preamble)、正文(Habendum)、附录(Schedule)及证明部分即结尾词(Attestation)五

18、大部分。标题在开宗明义地显示合同的性质；前言是用最简单的阐明，大约引见合同订立的背景；正文里包括依各种合同性质的不同而商定的详细条款，包括不论何种类型合同都会出现的普通条款；附录构成对前述合同正文条款作必要的补充。不是一切合同都有该部分最后结尾那么是当事人签名前的一段文字，为整份合同画上完美的句号。以下分别就此五部分进展阐明。一、合同的标题Title英文合同和中文合同都一样，标题并不是一定要有的，由于当事人间的法律关系是用合同内容的各个条款来判别，标题根本上不会产生任何影响。但为方便辨识的思索，合同撰写人通常都会按照合同性质，在合同首页的最上方给予一个适当的标题。在第一章的英文合同称号中已有引

19、见，在此不再赘述，仅补充Confirmation(确认书)，Order(定单)经常也会出如今简易的合同中。二、合同的前言(Preamble)英文合同在标题之后，各式各样的条款出现之前，通常会先有一段前言，也称序文、导言、总那么等, 也见有称为“Non-operative part者。前言普通不会占去太多的篇幅，目的在于很简单地引见合同内容之人、事、时、地、物等背景，让阅读合同的人在接触冗长复杂的正文前，先有一个根底的认识与心思预备。详细来说，前言通常又分作以下两个段落：第一部份文字叫做 Parties ，也就是合同的开场白(Commencement)，内容在阐明当事人姓名或称号、国籍或注册地国

20、及住所地或主营业地、订约日期包括各自在合同中的简称等等。EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT (SALES)EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT is made and entered into on _ day of _ (month), _ (year), by and between: _ (hereinafter referred to as the Company), a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of _, with its registered office located

21、at _, and _ (hereinafter referred to as the Employee), an individual, with nationality of _ (Passport No._) residing at _. 本聘用协议于_年_月_日签署，双方当事人为：依_州法律组织设立的_公司 (以下简称本公司) ， 主营业地为_，与_国籍的_ (护照号码: _)(以下简称雇员), 居住于_。& by and between要表示合同是由哪些当事人所订定，英文中通常会说This Agreement is made by and between.，用by来表示合同由谁订定，

22、between来表示谁与谁之间的订立。假设当事人不只两个，也可以用by and among来替代。& organized and existing合同开场白里要阐明当事人的国籍，在自然人的情况下可以用a national of .或an individual with the nationality of .来表示，假设是法人组织多半运用organized and existing under the laws of .这样的字眼，其中organized也可以用incorporated来替代。& registered officeregistered office是指一个公司的注册所在地，它和

23、principal office 或“ principal place of business即主营业地并不一定位于同一个地方。第二部份叫做Recitals，是由数个以Whereas字样开头的句子所组合而成这些句子俗称为Whereas Clauses 即鉴于条款。 Whereas的本义是When in fact、considering that、或that being the case的意思，所以Whereas Clauses就表示当事人乃是在基于对这些现实例如订约的目的、背景、原由等的共同认识，订立此合同。以下是一个补偿贸易合同Compensation Trade Contract的Wher

24、eas Clauses，很简单明了地表达了双方协作的志愿。WITNESSETHWhereas Party B has machines and equipment, which are now used in Party Bs manufacturing of steel wire rope, and is willing to sell to Party A the machines and equipment; andWhereas Party B agrees to buy the products, steel wire rope, made by Party A using the

25、machines and equipment Party B supplies, in compensation of the price of the machines and equipment, and Whereas Party A agrees to purchase from Party B the machines and equipment, andWhereas Party A agrees to sell to Party B the products, the steel wire rope, in compensation of the price of Party B

26、s machines and equipment;兹证明(通常不译)鉴于乙方拥有用于消费钢丝绳的机械设备，愿向甲方出卖该机械设备；鉴于乙方赞同购买甲方用乙方所供应的该机械设备消费的产品，钢丝绳来补偿该机械设备的价款；鉴于甲方赞同从乙方购买该机械设备；鉴于甲方赞同向乙方出卖产品钢丝绳以补偿乙方机械设备的价款；紧接在一串whereas clauses之后，会出现类似上例中的Now Therefore, in consideration 对价/约因港台多用此遇 of:这样一句话，阐明合同是有偿合同，目的在提示阅读合同的人，真正规范订约当事人权益义务关系的条款在这句话之后就要开场了，也就是说，这句话是

27、前言与正文之间过渡的桥梁，在此之前为订约背景现实的表达，在此之后那么为关于买卖关系的实体商定普通称为operative part/clauses。例如：Now therefore, in consideration of the premises and covenants described hereinafter, Party A and Party B agree as follows:兹以上述各点和契约所载条款为约因，订约双方协议如下：三、正文(Hanbendum/Operative part)正文(Hanbendum) 部分, 也称Operative part/clauses或Bod

28、y, 详细商定当事人的权益义务。各式各样的正文条款是合同中最中心的部份，也是篇幅最大的部份，与当事人的权益义务关系发生最直接、最亲密的牵连。本书拟将英文合同中的正文条款分为两类：特殊条款与普通条款。所谓特殊条款指的是只需在某些特定性质的合同中才会出现的条款，例如劳动合同中通常会商定严密条款、竞业制止条款，但是买卖同就不会有这些商定。反过来说，买卖合同中普通要记载买卖标的、买卖条件等等条款，在劳动合同中就不会出现。相对于特殊条款的所谓普通条款，指的是不论合同性质如何，几乎一切的合同中都会记载的条款，例如管辖法院的商定、违约条款等等，将于第四章中详细引见，在此亦不赘述。四、附录Schedule附录

29、也称Addendum, Annex或Exhibit，也有用Attachment, List或Table表示的。附录部分作为对正文条款的补充，不是一切英文合同都有的一项。以下就是一份聘用协议的附录，对该公司聘用的经理职责作出补充阐明：THE SCHEDULE ABOVE REFERRED TO1 To manage, maintain and promote the business of the Company2 To attend personally during the usual hours of business and to supervise and control the bu

30、siness and to be accessible to customers and employees of the Company.3 To keep the usual books of account.4 To pay daily all money received in the business into the Companys bank account.5 Generally to protect the interests of the Company.上文提及的附录是指：1 管理，维持并促进公司的运营2亲身参与公司的日常运营，监管运营，对本公司的客户和员工平易近人。3

31、保管日常账册。4 支付日常公司运营到帐的款项5 广泛地维护公司的利益此外，即使是有这部分的英文合同，也经常由于附录的内容庞杂篇幅较长，如有关的图表或者其他法律文书，而放在合同的最后单独列明。下文就是单独列在合同后的附录的一个信誉证：EXHIBIT B Letter of CreditXYZ BANK LIMLTEDAddressCredit Bank, N. A. International Banking FacilityLos Angeles, California 90000 U.S.A.Date:Letter of Credit No.:Gentlemen:We hereby esta

32、blish this irrevocable letter of credit in your favor for account of ABC Company in the amount of U. S. $ _ (amount in words), available against your draft(s) drawn at sight on Credit Bank, N.A., Letter of Credit Department, Los Angeles, California, accompanied by your signed and dated statement as

33、follows:The amount drawn under Letter of Credit No._dated_ issued by XYZ Bank Limited on behalf of ABC Company is payable to the undersigned pursuant to the terms of that certain Loan Agreement dated as of _, 20 _, between ABC Company and Credit Bank. N.A.All drafts drawn under this Letter of Credit

34、 must bear the clause Drawn under XYZ Bank Limited Letter of Credit Number_, dated_, 20 _.Partial drawings are permitted.We hereby engage with the drawers, endorsers and bona fide holders of drafts drawn under and in compliance with the terms of this Letter of Credit that the drafts will be duly hon

35、ored if drawn and presented to the above drawn in Los Angeles, California, on or before Expiry date 30 days after the final Installment Payment Date.This Letter of Credit is subject to the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (1983 Revision), International Chamber of Commerce, Public

36、ation No. 400.Special Instructions to Drawee BankIn reimbursement for any payment made by you hereunder, you may debit our account with you.XYZ BANK LIMITEDBY_ (Authorized Signature)附件B：XYZ银行地址：北美信贷银行国际银行业务部美国加州洛杉玑日期：信誉证号码：*先生我行在此开立，以ABC公司为受害人，总额为*美圆的不可撤销信誉证，凭交加州洛杉玑北美信贷银行信誉证部开出的即期汇票付款。并附有贵行签署、具名日期的如

37、下声明：由XYZ银行代表ABC公司*年*月*日开立的第*号信誉证项下款项系根据ABC公司与北美信贷银行*年*月*日订立的某贷款协议条款规定，付与签字人。本证项下开具的汇票须注明“本汇票系凭XYZ银行年月日第号信誉证下开具的条款。允许部分提款。凡根据本证开具与本证条款相符的汇票，如按时开具提交我行，我行保证对出票人、背书人和蔼意持有人不迟于最后分期付款日后30天内承当付款责任。本信誉证系根据国际商会第400号出版物跟单信誉证一致惯例与实务1983年版缮制。付款行特别指令贵行本信誉证项下所付款项，记入我行与贵行的借记帐户。XYZ银行授权签字五、证明部分Attestation英文合同构造中的最后一个

38、部份就是结尾辞即证明部分与当事人的签名。所谓结尾辞指的是在当事人签名之前经常会出现一段文字，相当于中文合同中“双方签字盖章，特此为证。除了阐明签名人确实为正当授权的代表外，还会具明签名的日期。至于签名档的部份，假设当事人是公司的话，除了代表人的签名以外，还要加盖公司印鉴，并且通常会注明代表人的职务(title)。IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by duly authorized representatives of both parties on the date

39、 and year first written above._ _By: By:Title: Title:本协议由被授权之人，于本协议上述所记载日期，代表双方当事人缔结生效之，特此为证。_ _代表人： 代表人：职务： 职务：& IN WITNESS WHEREOF这三个词是英文合同结尾辞的规范方式，实体上讲并没有什幺特别的功能或意义，与中文合同里最后通常会记载的恐口说无凭，特立契为证很类似，也有用IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF 替代，有时候也会用INTENDING TO BE LEGALLY BOUND替代，意思也是一样的。& duly authorized representati

40、ves当合同之当事人为法人组织时，必需推选出一位自然人作为法定代表人，例如公司的法定代表人通常会是董事长，代表公司对外签署合同，建立权益义务关系。除了董事长根据法律当然具备对外代表公司的权限之外，公司董事会也可以经过决议授权某一个董事、总经理、或其它重要职员作为公司签约的代表人，此时与公司签约的对方当事人为了确保这个代表人确实属于duly authorized representative，可以要求公司提供这个授权的董事会决议证明，以妥善维护本人的权益。下面就是一个董事会对采购员的授权决议：BOARD OF DIRECTORS RESOLUTIONDESIGNATING A PURCHASIN

41、G AGENTPursuant to a duly made, seconded, and carried motion the Board of Directors of _ _ (hereinafter referred to as Corporation) adopted the following resolution by a unanimous vote:RESOLVED, that _ is hereby appointed Purchasing Agent of this Corporation with limited authority to make purchases

42、in the Corporations name and behalf. Under no circumstances will the Purchasing Agent have real or apparent authority to make a purchase for the Corporation if the dollar amount of said purchase or the total dollar amount of an installment purchase will exceed the amount of _ dollars ($_).I The unde

43、rsigned, _, certifies that he or she is the duly appointed Secretary of _ Corporation and that the above is a true and correct copy of a resolution duly adopted at a meeting of the directors thereof, convened and held in accordance with law and the Bylaws of said Corporation on _, (Date) and that su

44、ch resolution is now in full force and effect.IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have affixed my name as Secretary of _ Corporation and have attached the seal of _ Corporation to this resolution.Dated: _ _SecretarySeal:董事会决议：任命采购员：就已第二次提起到董事会的动议，本公司董事会全体一致经过如下决议：兹决议，本公司授权*为本公司采购员，以本公司名义代表本公司对外采买。但其单笔采购金额或分期购买的总额

45、不得超越*美圆。超越该数额该采购员概无真实或表见代理权。我，签字人，证明*，他/她是本公司正式任命的秘书，以上是本公司董事会决议的真实准确的副本，该决议系按法律和本公司章程在*年*月*日召开的董事会上正式经过，现完全有效。作为公司秘书我签字并盖公司印鉴于该决议，特此为证。日期：*年*月*日秘书：签字公司印鉴：盖章& the date and year first written above假设合同结尾辞里注明的日期和合同前言所载明的日期一样，就用这句话表示，假设不同的话，就应该另以条款明定合同生效日Effective Date，以免产生争议。如下例：After this contract is

46、 signed by the duly authorized representatives of both parties, both parties shall submit the contract to their governments or Boards of Directors for approval. The date when the later party obtains the approval shall be taken as the effective date of the contract. Both parties shall attempt to get

47、the contract approval within 60 days from signing and notify by telex or cable the other party of the approval which is confirmed by the following registered air-mail letter.本合同经双方正式授权代表签署后，应提交各自政府或董事会同意。以后一方获得同意日期为本合同生效日。双方应尽力在合同签署后60日内获得同意并以电传或电报方式通知该同意，随后以航空挂号邮件确认。第二节 英文合同的用词特点Wording作为正式法律文件，英语合

48、同在用词方面极其讲究，要求选词专业professional,正式formal,准确accuracy。详细表达如下：1专业性术语Technical Terms/ Terminology法律专业性术语是在合同等法律文件中才用到的词汇，它并不以普通受众为对象，而针对专业人士，力求使言语表达准确无误。中文合同中常见的诸如“瑕疵defect、“救援remedy、“不可抗力force Majeure、“管辖(jurisdiction)等专业用词就曾经让非专业人士大惑不解了，英文合同的专业用词自然就更玄妙无比了。详细的实例如下：l Without prejudice to the parties right

49、s under Clause 18. 1, the indemnities provided for in Clausel6. 1 and/or 16. 2 and/or 16. 3 shall be the sole compensation for the damages caused by such delays.无妨害18.1款双方的权益，16.1,16.2及16.3款规定的赔偿应为上述延误引起损害的独一赔偿金。indemnities较compensation专业，此处用compensation解释了indemnities；l Any such assignment, transfer

50、 or conveyance shall be without other consideration than the mutual covenants and considerations of this agreement.任何转让除根据本协议相互契约和对价外不得思索其他。Transfer，assignment和conveyance都有转让的含义，其中assignment和conveyance多用于不动产尤为专业。l We advise you of our intention to terminate our tenancy on or before _ (Date) and to d

51、eliver to you full possession of the premises。我方不迟于某日期通知他方终止租约并交还房屋全部一切。tenancy指房屋租赁的租约，而premises指租赁的房屋及其附属物都是专业用语。l Licensee agrees to pay to Licensor a minimum royalty of_ Dollars ($_) as a minimum guarantee against royalties to be paid to Licensor during the first contract term, said minimum roya

52、lty to be paid on or before the last day of the initial term hereto. 受答应方赞同支付答应方最低运用费*美圆作为该答应合同第一期运用费的最低保证金，该最低运用费不迟于本合同的入门期最后一天支付给答应方。Royalties在答应合同中专指特许权运用费。l Price of the Contract shall be calculated on Royalty in accordance with the content and scope stipulated in Article 2 to the Contract and s

53、hall be paid in_.按照第二条规定的内容和范围。本合同采用提成方式计算价钱，计价的货币为。与上例不同的是，这里的royalty指的是答应合同计价方式的一种即提成计价(royalty price),相对于统包价钱lumpsum pricel Default in observing or performing any of the covenants or agreements of debtor set forth in any collateral document of security given to secure indebtedness hereunder, and

54、the continuation of such default beyond any period of grace specified in any such document.借款人未能履行契约或附带的担保文件列明的协议，以及该违约的继续超越上述文件规定的宽限期。在借款合同中grace专指宽限期，而不是普通英语的其他意思。l Furthermore, the parties agree that the following situations shall be considered as exceptional circumstances which justify the earli

55、er termination by the other party: bankruptcy, moratorium, receivership, liquidation or any kind of composition between the debtor and the creditors, or any circumstances which are likely to affect substantially one partys ability to carry out his obligations under this contract。此外，双方赞同以下条件应以为是对方合理提

56、早终止合同的例外情形：破产、延付令、破产在管、清算或其他债务人和债务人任何方式的和解，或任何能够对一方履行合同项下义务才干呵斥本质影响的情形。此处的composition显然不是普通英语中“作文的意思，而是指破产和解。l In addition, upon request of the Board and if the Liquidating Trustee determines that it would be imprudent to dispose of any non-cash assets of the Company, such assets may be distributed

57、in kind to the Members in lieu of cash, proportionately to their right to receive cash distributions hereunder.另外，应董事会恳求且假设清算托管人确定处置本公司非现金财富非明智之举，该财富可按各成员根据合同项下收取现金份额的权益以实物方式替代现金进展分配。In kind 此处与in cash 相对，通常用于合资、合伙协议中表示“以实物出资，本句中是以实物分配清算。In lieu of 表示替代相当于根底英语中的instead of。l The Buyer shall establish

58、 the covering letter of credit before the date specified in Clause Three of this Sales Confirmation, failing which the Seller reserves the right to rescind without further notice, or to accept whole or any part of this Sales Confirmation not fulfilled by the Buyer, or to lodge a claim for losses sus

59、tained, if any.买方须于销售确认书第三条所规定的日期之前开出本批买卖的信誉证。否那么，售方有权不经通知取消本确认书，或接受买方对本销售确认书未履行的全部或一部分，或对因此蒙受的损失提出索赔。Reserve为公用词汇，我们常见的“版权一切英语表达就是All rights reserved。Rescind取消合同/协议和lodge提出索赔，与claim(s)连用也都是专业用语。l In case one party desires to sell or assign all or part of his investment subscribed, the other party s

60、hall have the preemptive right. 如一方欲出卖或转让其所投资的部分或全部，另一方应有优先购买权。Assign其名词方式assignment和Preemptive属专业用语。2. 正式用语Formal Terms英文合同，习惯采用书面的方式，合同往往运用正式的书面用语，较少运用口头用语，以显示合同正规、严肃。详细实例如下：l At the request of Party B, Party A agrees to send technicians to assist Party B to install the equipment.应乙方要求，甲方赞同派遣技术人员协