英文合同解读.doc

英文合同解读（一）(2008-04-24 13:57:58) 转载标签： 教育分类： 法律英语   第一章           英文合同概述(General Introduction)In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.（Nehemiah BIBLE NIV）因这一切的事，我们立确实的约，写在册上。我们的首领，利未人，和祭司都签了名。【尼西米】圣经新国际版 合同，古称契约（港台现仍多用此语），“契”者即证券，证明买卖、抵押、租赁等关系的文书，如契据、房契等。古代典籍中常见此语，易·系辞就有“后时圣人易之以书契。”“约”者即共同商定的事,共同议定要遵守的条文，如和约、条约等。三国演义中就有“昔高祖约法三章,黎民皆感其德。”而西方在早在圣经中就有关于上帝在西乃山与以色列人立约的记载。挪亚方舟就是籍着上帝与挪亚的契约而建造的：But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. （但我要与你立约，你以及你的儿子、妻子和儿媳，要与你一同进入方舟。） 第一节 合同与协议(Contract and Agreement)而在现代英语合同中，合同一般称为Contract，协议一般称为Agreement。那么Contract和Agreement是一回事吗？他们之间又有什么关系呢？中华人民共和国民法通则第85条规定：“合同是当事人之间设立、变更、终止民事关系的协议”（A contract shall be an agreement whereby the parties establish, change or terminate their civil relationship）。中华人民共和国合同法第二条规定：“合同是平等主体的自然人、法人、其他组织之间设立、变更、终止民事权利义务关系的协议”（Contracts referred to in this Law are agreements between equal natural persons, legal persons and other organizations for the purpose of establishing, altering and terminating mutual civil rights and obligations）。美国法律整编合同法第二次汇编定义合同为：“合同乃为一个允诺或一组允诺。违反此一允诺时，法律给予救济；或其允诺之履行，法律在某些情况下视之为一项义务。”（A contract is a promise, or a set of promises, for breach of which the law gives a remedy, or the performance of which the law in some way recognizes as a duty.）（Restatement，Second, Contracts, Section 1）这一定义在Steven H. Gifts 编著的Law Dictionary被完全引述. 但一般而言，Contract，乃两个以上当事人间具有法律约束力之协议，或由一个以上当事人所为一组具有法律约束力之允诺。（A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties or a set of legal binding promises made by one party or more.(G. C. Lindsay, Contract, 3rd ed. 1992) 这一表述在L.B. Curzon编撰的Dictionary of Law中概括为“A legally binding agreement creating enforceable obligations.” Chris Turner在其编撰的Contract Law中定义的更为具体明了“A contract is an agreement between two parties by which both are bound in law and which can therefore be enforced in a court or other equivalent forum.”即合同就是对合同方具有法律上约束力，可由法院或其他同等管辖地强制执行的协议。而在Blacks Law Dictionary（Eighth Edition）对contract 的定义多达8项：1. An agreement two or more parties creating obligations that are enforceable or otherwise recognzable at law 2.The writing that set forth such an agreement.3.引述美国法律整编合同法第二次汇编“contract”的定义.4. Broadly, any legal duty or set of duties not imposed by the law of tort; esp., a duty created by a decree or declaration of a court. 5. The body of law dealing with agreement and exchange.6. The term of an agreement or any particular term. 7.Loosely, a sale or conveyance. 8. Loosely, an enforceable agreement between two or more parties to do or not to do a thing or a set of things; a compact.至于agreement，L.B. Curzon的Dictionary of Law定义为：“ consensus of minds, or evidence of such consensus, in spoken or written form, relating to anything done or to be done.”是对已做和待做的有关事宜以口头或书面形式做出的相同意思表示或该意思表示的证据。而在Blacks Law Dictionary（Eighth Edition）给Agreement下了两个定义：一个是“A mutual understanding between two or more persons about their relative duites and obligations regarding past or future performances; a manifestation of mutual assent by two or more persons. ”即双方或多方就过去或将来的相关职责和义务的履行而达成相互的理解；双方或多方相互达成一致的表现形式。另一个是“The Parties acutal bargain as found in their language or by implication from other circumstances, including course of dealing, usage of trade and course of performance.”即当事人通过语言或其他情形暗示而确立的实际约定，包括交易常例、贸易习惯以及履行惯例。在ENGLISH-CHINISE BILINGUAL LAW DICTIONARY (2nd ed.)中对agreement作出了如下解释：document setting out the contractual terms agreed between two parties or contract between two parties where one party makes an offer, and the other party accepts it.协议，协定，合同（列出双方当事人同意和约定条件的文件）Contract(合同)和Agreement(协议)到底能不能相互替换呢？让我们来看看英文合同相关书籍和词典的说法。Chris Turner在其Contract Law中是这样阐述合同的成立：“There are three key ingredients to formation(of contracts): agreement-based on mutuality over the terms, agreement exists when a valid acceptance follows a valid offer; consideration-given by both sides, the quid pro quo, and the proof that the bargain exists; intention to create legal relations-since a contract is legally enforceable, unlike mere gratuitous promises. 即合同成立的三个要件：协议（基于要约与承诺形成对条款的相互一致而存在）、约因（双方付出的对价及对价存在的证据）和设立法律关系的意愿。（合同具有法律上的执行力，不同于纯粹的无偿赠予的允诺）这里也是用agreement来解释contract的，认为contract（合同）是一种符合一定条件的agreement（协议）。在英语法律用语中虽然多用“agreement”来解释“contract”，其实也有偶用“contract”解释“agreement”的情形，如：Agreement,(2) A contract (The Law Dictionary) 甚至有在同一句中交替使用的实例，如：If the contract contains an innocent mistake, you can get out of the agreement if the mistake is important. (What Should I Know About Contracts, The State Bar of California, 2 Edi. 1984), 还有更为明确的：Agreement. Synonym for Contract (Robert LeRoy & Kenneth A. Buths, Business Law and Taxes, “Glossary”, 1984)而在Blacks Law Dictionary对agreement的注释中也能看到“The termagreement frequently as synymous with the word”contract”, is really an expression greater breath of meaning and less technicality. Every contract is an agreement,; but not every agreement is a contract. In its colloquial sense, the term agreement would include any arrangement between two or more persons intended to affect their relations (whether legal or otherwise) to each other. An accepted invitation to dinner, for example, would be an agreement in this sense; but it would not be a contract, because it would neither be intended to create, nor would it in fact create, any legal obligation between the parties to it. Further, even an agreement which is intended to affect the obligations of the parties does not necessarily amount to a contract in the strict sense of the term. For instance, a conveyance of land or a gift of a chattel, though involving an agreement is not a contract; because its primary legal operation is to effect a transfer of property, and not to create an obligation.” 2 Stephens Commmentaries on the laws of England 5 (L. Crispin Warmington ed., 21st ed. 1950).“An agreement, as the courts have said, is nothing more than a mannefestation of mutual assent by two or more legally competent persons to one another by two or more legally competent persons to one another. Agreementis in some respects a broader term than contract, or even than bargain or promise. It covers excluded sales, gifts, and other transfers of property.” Samuel Williston, A Treaties on the Law of Contracts § at 6 (Walter H.E. Jaeger ed., 3d ed.1957).综上所述，我们不难看出，汉语的法律用语仅用协议来解释合同，而英语的法律用语往往不很严格，多用Agreement解释Contract, 但也有用Contract解释Agreement的情形, 虽说大多情况Contract与Agreement有所区别，有时候两者还可以作为同义词互换使用。可以说contract都是协议，但协议不一定就是Contract。但就广义的协议和合同来讲，还是有区别的：从成立的宗旨上看，协议十分宽泛不囿于为了当事人间形成法律或其他关系，即便是为影响当事人的义务也未必形成严格意义上的合同关系，如不动产转让或动产赠与。从内容、条款上看，合同较为具体、详尽，着眼于微观，而协议则较为原则、粗疏，致力于宏观。实践中往往合作方就某一项目达成协议对有关原则问题作出约定，然后在此基础上签订合同，再全面明确各项具体的细节。从涉及范围上看，合同的标的往往比较单一集中，也很明确；通常都是一事一议，就事论事，而协议的标的往往比较广泛；一项大型项目的协议往往包括或分解成若干个具体的合同。从书写格式上看，合同已基本格式化了，大家可以看到许多的合同范本；而协议的格式相对灵活一些，没有什么固定的格式。而狭义的协议和合同并无分别，只是用语上和习惯上的称呼而已。 第二节 合同的种类与名称（Categories and Titles）一份英文法律文件, 到底是不是英文合同, 就要看它的内容是否符合合同的要求。一般而言合同不外乎包括人、事、时、地、物五大要素，也就是4W1H (Who, When, Where, What, How),如果你手上的文件内容包括了这五项要素而且签署生效，该文件就应该具有了合同的性质，而不论它是以何面目出现的。常见的英文合同名称可分为以下四大类： 一、         合同、协议（Contract; Agreement）文件名称直接标明“Contract”或“Agreement”是最常见的英文合同。中华人民共和国第九章到第二十三章就合同种类作了概括，它们分别是买卖合同；供用电、水、气、热力合同；赠与合同；借款合同；租赁合同；融资租赁合同；承揽合同；建设工程合同；运输合同；技术合同；保管合同；仓储合同；委托合同；行纪合同；居间合同等十五大类。（Sales Contracts, Contracts for Supply of Power, Water, Gas or Heat, Donation Contracts, Loan Contracts, Leasing Contracts, Financial Leasing Contract, Work-for-hire Contracts, Construction Project Contracts, Carriage Contracts, Technology Contracts, Safe-keeping Contracts, Warehousing Contracts, Agency Appointment Contracts, Commission Agency Contracts, Brokerage Contracts）而常见的协议有委托代理协议（Agency Agreement）、合伙协议(        Partnership Agreement、股份转让协议(Shares Assignment Agreement)、保密协议(Confidentiality Agreement)、竞业禁止协议(Non-compete Agreement)、聘用协议（Employment Agreement）等等。 二、         意向书（Letter of Intent）文件名称如果标明“Letter of Intent”, “Memorandum of Understanding”(简称MOU, 通常翻译为谅解备忘录)，甚至只称为“Memorandum”（简称Memo，通常称之为备忘录）。另外，也有标明“Minute of Talks”(即会谈纪要)。这些法律文件往往是当事人双方在商洽合作中形成的，可以称之为准合同文件，虽然，从名称上看，它们似乎不是合同或者协议，但这些法律文件，如果经当事人签订，即具有一定的法律约束力。甚至，由于没有形成正式的合同或协议，而径直依据这些文件而进行实质的合作，使之具有合同或协议的性质。那就是说，合同的效力不能被其名称所拘束，如果上述的法律文件，其中完整明确地记载了交易的条款，当事人如果依据该条款内容履行，双方也能达成交易目的。那么这份法律文件就应当视为双方的合同或者协议。 三、         契约（Covenant, Indenture, Deed, Compact，Protocol）英文合同还有一些约定俗成的名称。Covenant, 主要指不动产转让的合同或证明文件，英文合同如果基于传统英美法对价的存在，也会用到这个词, 表示双方达成的契约。如：In consideration of mutual premises and covenants herein contained, the parties hereto agree as follows: Indenture通常也是指不动产转让的契约文件，Deed一般指地契、房契，Compact多用于国家间的协定、协议。Protocol, 通常翻译为草约或者议定书，往往也是双方会谈结果的文字依据。经双方签字后，即受其约束，对草约内容承担法律责任，如果需要补充、修改、完善，双方还会签订补充的协议。 四、         其他书函（Letter; Waiver; Guaranty; Power of Attorney）英文合同有时候非常简短，形式上就像信函一样，姑且称之为书函类的英文合同，常常用"Letter"（函），"Waiver"（弃权书），"Guaranty"（保证书），"Power of Attorney"（委托书）等简单明确的字眼作为合同的名称。相对于"Agreement"或"Contract"类的合同，书函类的合同一般具有补充或附属的性质，而且经常出现在“Agreement”或“Contract”类合同的附件中。当然书函类的合同对双方当事人也有完全的拘束力。例如：甲公司向乙银行贷款，由丙公司做担保人，通常甲公司与乙银行会签署一份总协议（General Agreement），做为双方往来的主要依据，再由丙公司签署一份保证书（Guaranty）给乙银行，而乙银行每次拨款时，会发出一份授信书（Credit Letter或Facility Letter）给甲公司，授信书上会载明授信额度，作为甲公司申请拨款的依据。由本例中三份合同可以看出，General Agreement系授信的主要依据，甲公司和丙银行间的权利义务关系主要由General Agreement来规范，而Guaranty及Credit Letter均为附属在General Agreement架构下的小合同。丙公司因签署了Guaranty，因此对乙银行负有保证义务，乙银行因为签署了Credit Letter，因此对甲公司就发生了拨款的义务。本书撰写的方式，是针对名称为"Agreement（狭义）"或"Contract"类型的合同文件做阅读方法的说明，其原因即在于此类文件的合同结构复杂而内容完整，读者若能掌握阅读此类合同的要领，阅读其它类型的英文合同时自然就“No Problem”没问题了。英文合同解读（二）(2008-04-24 14:02:23) 转载标签： 教育分类： 法律英语 第二章 英文合同的特色（Features of English Contracts）Form follows function.-motto of the Bauhaus school of architecture形式服从功能-鲍豪斯建筑学院校训      与基础英语相比，作为专业性极强的语言，英文合同的用语不同于日常语言，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，用词偏僻，晦涩难读，不易理解。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，令人痛苦不堪。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理解，阅读者除了语言本身的能力外，对于法律也应具备一定的素质。这是所有专业英语的共性，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，有兴趣的读者不妨看看到底是什么意思：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 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 land 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 attorney's 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 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 once 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 terms 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, including but not limited to court costs, advertising expenses, auctioneer's allowance, the expenses, if any required to correct any irregularity in the title, premium for Seller's bond, auditor's fee, attorney's fee, and all other expenses of sale occurred in and about the protection and execution of this 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 whole 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 pay 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 upon 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语言应当现代化的呼声愈来愈强烈。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 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 write 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语言书就，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，纽约州最近也通过一项法律，要求商业企业用非术语草拟消费者合同。另外，美国总统下令所有行政机构在出台将来的规定时要用他所称的直白英语进行变革。)而在英国也有一个成立了25年的Plain English Campaign（直白英语运动）组织致力于各种公文的直白英语化，而反对各种官样文章（gobbledygook）。1999年英国颁布实施的消费者不公平术语法（Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations）也要求消费者合同的术语必须用直白明了的语言（plain and intelligible language）,该法也要求这些术语必须是易读的，意味着要用清晰的设计和排印（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叹到“the special language of the law remains a barrier to nonlawyers. To the extent that this 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，法律专业语言对律师以外的人士来讲，仍然是一道壁垒。从促进行业经济的健康发展，保留行业特点和防止未经授权进行律师执业等方面考虑，可以把这种语言壁垒看作是一种行业优势。    作为非英美法系的非英语国家，面对加入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语言呢？尽管Plain English（直白）似乎是大势所趋，但万事都有个渐变的过程，长年累月沉淀下来的习惯不是一下就能改变的。拿来主义某种意义上，是必须的，所以我们首先还是应该先通晓传统的英语合同格式和用语，在精通的基础上，才能谈得上根据实际情况进行进一步的格式和用语方面的改革，取其精华，去其糟粕，当然，这需要一个漫长的过程。以下就针对英文合同的特色分别从篇章结构、用词、句式结构以及时态四大方面进行说明。 第一节 篇章结构特点（Text Structure）    一份完整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；前言是用最简单的说明，大略介绍合同订立的背景；正文里包括依各种合同性质的不同而约定的具体条款，包括不论何种类型合同都会出现的一般条款；附录构成对前述合同正文条款作必要的补充