[合同協(xié)議]英文合同解讀三篇章結(jié)構(gòu)特點(diǎn)

1、英文合同解讀-(三)篇章結(jié)構(gòu)特點(diǎn)分類外商投資公司，股份有限公司，有限責(zé)任公司 發(fā)文日期2009-08-15 作者王輝 正文內(nèi)容:一份完整的英文合同通?？梢苑譃闃?biāo)題（title）、前言(preamble)、正文(habendum)、附錄(schedule)及證明部分即結(jié)尾詞(attestation)五大部分。標(biāo)題開宗明義地顯示合同的性質(zhì)；前言用最簡單的說明大略介紹合同訂立的背景；正文里包括依各種合同性質(zhì)的不同而約定的具體條款，還包括不論何種類型合同都會(huì)出現(xiàn)的一般條款；附錄構(gòu)成對(duì)前述合同正文條款的必要補(bǔ)充（不是所有合同都有該部分）；最后，結(jié)尾則是當(dāng)事人簽名前的一段文字，為整份合同畫上完滿的句號(hào)。以

2、下分別就此五部分進(jìn)行說明。 一、合同的標(biāo)題（title）英文合同和中文合同都一樣，標(biāo)題并不是一定要有的，因?yàn)楫?dāng)事人間的法律關(guān)系是用合同內(nèi)容的各個(gè)條款來判斷，標(biāo)題基本上不會(huì)產(chǎn)生任何影響。但為方便辨識(shí)的考慮，合同撰寫人通常都會(huì)依照合同性質(zhì)，在合同首頁的最上方給予一個(gè)適當(dāng)?shù)臉?biāo)題。英文合同名稱在第一章中已有介紹，在此不再贅述，僅補(bǔ)充說明：confirmation(確認(rèn)書)、order(訂單)也會(huì)經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)在簡易的合同中。二、合同的前言(preamble)英文合同在標(biāo)題之后，各式各樣的條款出現(xiàn)之前，通常會(huì)先有一段前言，也稱序言、導(dǎo)言、總則等, 也見有稱為“non?operative part”者。前言一般

3、不會(huì)占去太多的篇幅，目的在于很簡略地介紹合同內(nèi)容之人、事、時(shí)、地、物等背景，讓閱讀合同的人在接觸冗長復(fù)雜的正文前，先有一個(gè)基礎(chǔ)的認(rèn)識(shí)與心理準(zhǔn)備。詳細(xì)來說，前言通常又分作以下兩個(gè)段落：第一部分文字叫做 “parties” ，也就是合同的開場白(commencement)，內(nèi)容為說明當(dāng)事人姓名或名稱、國籍或注冊(cè)地國及住所地或主營業(yè)地、訂約日期、各自在合同中的簡稱等等。employment contract (sales)employment agreement is made and entered into onday of(month), (year), by and between:(her

4、einafter referred to as the “company”), a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the state of, with its registered office located at, and (hereinafter referred to as the “employee”), an individual, with nationality of(passport no.) residing at.本聘用協(xié)議于年月日簽訂，雙方當(dāng)事人為：依州法律組織設(shè)立并存續(xù)的公司 (以下簡稱本公司

5、) ， 注冊(cè)地位于，與國籍的(護(hù)照號(hào)碼:)(以下簡稱雇員), 居住于。?by and between表示合同是由哪些當(dāng)事人所訂定。英文中通常會(huì)說“this agreement is made by and between.”，用“by”來表示合同由誰訂定，“between”來表示誰與誰之間的訂立。如果當(dāng)事人不止兩個(gè)，也可以用“by and among”來代替。?organized and existing合同開場白里要說明當(dāng)事人的國籍，在自然人的情況下可以用“a national of .”或“an individual with the nationality of .”來表示，如果是法人組

6、織多半使用“organized and existing under the laws of .”這樣的字眼，其中“organized”也可以用“incorporated”來代替。?registered office“registered office”是指一個(gè)公司的注冊(cè)所在地，它和“principal office” 或“principal place of business”即主營業(yè)地并不一定位于同一個(gè)地方。第二部分叫做“recitals”，是由數(shù)個(gè)以“whereas”字樣開頭的句子所組合而成，這些句子俗稱為“whereas clauses”（鑒于條款）。 “whereas”的本義是“wh

7、en in fact”、“considering that”或“that being the case”的意思，所以“whereas clauses”就表示當(dāng)事人乃是基于對(duì)這些事實(shí)（例如訂約的目的、背景、原由等）的共同認(rèn)識(shí)，訂立此合同。以下是一個(gè)補(bǔ)償貿(mào)易合同（compensation trade contract）的whereas clauses，簡單明了地表達(dá)了雙方合作的意愿。witnessethwhereas party b has machines and equipment, which are now used in party b?s manufacturing of steel

8、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 machines and equipment party b supplies, in compensation of the price of the machines and equipment, andwhereas party a agrees to purchas

9、e 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?s machines and equipment;茲證明(通常不譯)鑒于乙方擁有用于生產(chǎn)鋼絲繩的機(jī)械設(shè)備，愿向甲方出售該機(jī)械設(shè)備；鑒于乙方同意購買甲方用乙方所供應(yīng)的該機(jī)械設(shè)備生產(chǎn)的產(chǎn)品鋼絲繩來補(bǔ)償該機(jī)械設(shè)備的價(jià)款；鑒于甲方同意從乙方購買該機(jī)械設(shè)備；鑒于甲方同意向乙方出售產(chǎn)品

10、鋼絲繩以補(bǔ)償乙方機(jī)械設(shè)備的價(jià)款；緊接在一串whereas clauses之后，會(huì)出現(xiàn)類似上例中的“now therefore, in consideration對(duì)價(jià)/約因（港臺(tái)多用此語） of.”這樣一句話，表明合同是有償合同，目的在提醒閱讀合同的人，真正規(guī)范訂約當(dāng)事人權(quán)利義務(wù)關(guān)系的條款在這句話之后就要開始了，也就是說，這句話是前言與正文之間過渡的橋梁，在此之前為訂約背景事實(shí)的敘述，在此之后則為關(guān)于交易關(guān)系的實(shí)體約定（一般稱為“operative part/clauses”）。例如：now therefore, in consideration of the premises and cove

11、nants described hereinafter, party a and party b agree as follows：.茲以上述各點(diǎn)和契約所載條款為約因，訂約雙方協(xié)議如下：三、正文(hanbendum/operative part)正文(hanbendum) 部分, 也稱operative part/clauses或body, 具體約定當(dāng)事人的權(quán)利義務(wù)。各式各樣的正文條款是合同中最核心的部分，也是篇幅最大的部分，與當(dāng)事人的權(quán)利義務(wù)關(guān)系發(fā)生最直接、最密切的牽連。 本書擬將英文合同中的正文條款分為兩類：特殊條款與一般條款。所謂特殊條款指的是只有在某些特定性質(zhì)的合同中才會(huì)出現(xiàn)的條款，例

12、如勞動(dòng)合同中通常會(huì)約定保密條款、競業(yè)禁止條款，但是買賣合同就不會(huì)有這些約定。反過來說，買賣合同中一般要記載交易標(biāo)的、交易條件等條款，在勞動(dòng)合同中就不會(huì)出現(xiàn)。相對(duì)于特殊條款的所謂一般條款，指的是不論合同性質(zhì)如何，幾乎所有的合同中都會(huì)記載的條款，例如管轄法院的約定、違約條款等，將于第四章中詳細(xì)介紹，在此亦不贅述。四、附錄（schedule）附錄也稱addendum, annex或exhibit，也有用attachment, list或table表示的。附錄部分作為對(duì)正文條款的補(bǔ)充，不是所有英文合同都有的一項(xiàng)。以下就是一份聘用協(xié)議的附錄，對(duì)該公司聘用的經(jīng)理職責(zé)作出補(bǔ)充說明：the schedule

13、above referred to1.to manage, maintain and promote the business of the company.2.to attend personally during the usual hours of business and to supervise and control the business and to be accessible to customers and employees of the company.3.to keep the usual books of account.4.to pay daily all mo

14、ney received in the business into the company?s bank account.5.generally to protect the interests of the company.上文提及的附錄是指：1.管理、維持并促進(jìn)公司的經(jīng)營。2.親自參與公司的日常經(jīng)營，監(jiān)管經(jīng)營，對(duì)本公司的客戶和員工平易親和。3.保管日常賬冊(cè)。4.支付日常公司經(jīng)營到賬的款項(xiàng)。5.廣泛地保護(hù)公司的利益。此外，即便是有這部分的英文合同，也經(jīng)常因?yàn)楦戒浀膬?nèi)容龐雜、篇幅較長而放在合同的最后單獨(dú)列明，如有關(guān)的圖表或者其他法律文書。下文就是單獨(dú)列在合同后的附錄的一個(gè)信用證：exhibit

15、 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 establish this irrevocable letter of credit in your favor for account of abc company in the amount of us $(amount in words), ava

16、ilable 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 follows:“the amount drawn under letter of credit no.datedissued by xyz bank limited on behalf of abc company is payable to the und

17、ersigned pursuant to the terms of that certain loan agreement dated as of , , between abc company and credit bank. n.a.”all drafts drawn under this letter of credit must bear the clause “drawn under xyz bank limited letter of credit number, dated,”.partial drawings are permitted.we hereby engage wit

18、h 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 honored if drawn and presented to the above drawn in los angeles, california, on or before expiry date 30 days after the final installment payme

19、nt date.this letter of credit is subject to the uniform customs and practice for documentary credits (1983 revision), international chamber of commerce, publication no. 400.special instructions to drawee bankin reimbursement for any payment made by you hereunder, you may debit our account with you.x

20、yz bank limitedby(authorized signature)附件b：xyz銀行地址：北美信貸銀行國際銀行業(yè)務(wù)部美國加利福尼亞洛杉磯，90000日期：信用證號(hào)碼：先生我行在此開立，以abc公司為受益人、總額為美元的不可撤銷信用證，憑交加利福尼亞洛杉磯北美信貸銀行信用證部開出的即期匯票付款。并附有貴行簽署、具名日期的如下聲明：“由xyz銀行代表abc公司年月日開立的第號(hào)信用證項(xiàng)下款項(xiàng)系根據(jù)abc公司與北美信貸銀行年月日訂立的某貸款協(xié)議條款規(guī)定，付與簽字人?！北咀C項(xiàng)下開具的匯票須注明“本匯票系憑xyz銀行年月日第號(hào)信用證下開具”的條款。允許部分提款。凡根據(jù)本證開具與本證條款相符的匯

21、票，如按時(shí)開具提交我行，我行保證對(duì)出票人、背書人和善意持有人不遲于最后分期付款日后30天內(nèi)承擔(dān)付款責(zé)任。本信用證系根據(jù)國際商會(huì)第400號(hào)出版物跟單信用證統(tǒng)一慣例與實(shí)務(wù)（1983年版）繕制。付款行特別指令貴行本信用證項(xiàng)下所付款項(xiàng)，記入我行與貴行的借記賬戶。xyz銀行授權(quán)簽字五、證明部分（attestation）英文合同結(jié)構(gòu)中的最后一個(gè)部分就是結(jié)尾辭，即證明部分與當(dāng)事人的簽名。所謂結(jié)尾辭指的是在當(dāng)事人簽名之前經(jīng)常會(huì)出現(xiàn)的一段文字，相當(dāng)于中文合同中“雙方簽字蓋章，特此為證”。除了表明簽名人確實(shí)為正當(dāng)授權(quán)的代表外，還會(huì)具明簽名的日期。至于簽名檔的部分，如果當(dāng)事人是公司的話，除了代表人的簽名以外，還要加

22、蓋公司印鑒，并且通常會(huì)注明代表人的職務(wù)(title)。in witness whereof, the parties hereto have caused this agreement to be executed by duly authorized representatives of both parties on the date and year first written above.by:by:title:title:本協(xié)議由被授權(quán)之人，于本協(xié)議上述所記載日期，代表雙方當(dāng)事人締結(jié)生效之，特此為證。代表人：代表人：職務(wù)：職務(wù)：?in witness whereof這三個(gè)詞是英文合同

23、結(jié)尾辭的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)模式，實(shí)體上講并沒有什么特別的功能或意義，與中文合同里最后通常會(huì)記載的“恐口說無憑，特立契為證”很類似，也有用“in testimony whereof”代替，有時(shí)候也會(huì)用“intending to be legally bound”代替，意思也是一樣的。?duly authorized representatives當(dāng)合同之當(dāng)事人為法人組織時(shí)，必須推選出一位自然人作為法定代表人，例如，公司的法定代表人通常會(huì)是董事長，代表公司對(duì)外簽訂合同，建立權(quán)利義務(wù)關(guān)系。除了董事長根據(jù)法律當(dāng)然具備對(duì)外代表公司的許可權(quán)之外，公司董事會(huì)也可以通過決議授權(quán)某一個(gè)董事、總經(jīng)理或其他重要職員作為公司簽約的

24、代表人，此時(shí)與公司簽約的對(duì)方當(dāng)事人為了確保這個(gè)代表人的確屬于“duly authorized representative”，可以要求公司提供這個(gè)授權(quán)的董事會(huì)決議證明，以妥善保護(hù)自己的權(quán)益。下面就是一個(gè)董事會(huì)對(duì)采購員的授權(quán)決議：board of directors? resolutiondesignating a purchasing agentpursuant to a duly made, seconded, and carried motion the board of directors of (hereinafter referred to as corporation) adopt

25、ed the following resolution by a unanimous vote:resolved, thatis hereby appointed purchasing agent of this corporation with limited authority to make purchases in the corporation?s name and behalf. under no circumstances will the purchasing agent have real or apparent authority to make a purchase fo

26、r the corporation if the dollar amount of said purchase or the total dollar amount of an installment purchase will exceed the amount ofdollars ($).i the undersigned, 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

27、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 such 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:secretary：seal:董事會(huì)決議：任命采購員：就已第二次提起到董事會(huì)的動(dòng)議，本公司董事會(huì)全體一致通過如下決議：茲決議，本公司授權(quán)為本公司采購員，以本公司名義代