翻译英文合同约首的 3 个要点

3 人赞同了该文章

约首(Preamble),也就是合同目录之后,正文第一条之前的引入和说明部分。约首通常分为导言(introduction)、鉴于条款(whereas clause)和过渡条款(transition),主要介绍了合同当事人的信息和合同订立的背景。


英文合同的约首与中文合同的前言具有较大区别

主要体现在鉴于条款和过渡条款上



英文合同

英文合同往往不惜笔墨地在这两个条款中描述签订合同的前因后果

中文合同

中文合同通常只有导言部分,即使有过渡条款,也只是寥寥数字,一笔带过


中英文合同在导言部分的具体结构方面也存在较大差异。今天,小编主要和大家探讨一下英文合同的约首的翻译。


1. 导言(Introduction)

英文合同的导言结构通常如下:

(1) THIS CONTRACT/AGREEMENT (is) +made/entered into/made and entered into +in (place) +on/as of (date) +by and between+X, +a corporation/company+ duly organized/incorporated + (and existing) under the law of (country/state/state, country) + with/having its legal address/registered office/domicile + at (address) + (“Party A”/hereinafter referred to as party A) + and Y…(“Party B”/hereinafter referred to as party B)”.


(2) THIS CONTRACT/AGREEMENT + is made/entered into/made and entered into + in (place) + on/as of (date)


BETWEEN

X, +a corporation/company+ duly organized/incorporated + (and existing) under the law of (country/state/state, country) + with/having its legal address/registered office/domicile + at (address) + (“Party A”/hereinafter referred to as party A)


AND

Y, +a corporation/company+ duly organized/incorporated + (and existing) under the law of (country/state/state, country) + with/having its legal address/registered office/domicile + at (address) + (“Party B”/hereinafter referred to as party B)


(3) THIS CONTRACT/AGREEMENT is dated (date) and is made

BY:

(i) X, +a corporation/company+ duly organized/incorporated + (and existing) under the law of (country/state/state, country) + with/having its legal address/registered office/domicile + at (address) + (“Party A”/hereinafter referred to as party A);

(ii) Y, +a corporation/company+ duly organized/incorporated + (and existing) under the law of (country/state/state, country) + with/having its legal address/registered office/domicile + at (address) + (“Party B”/hereinafter referred to as party B).


以上三种是比较常见的结构,具体结构还会因为合同起草人的习惯不同而略有差异。但后面两种结构其实是第一种结构的演变,只是改变了信息的排版,因此只要处理好第一种基本结构后,改变排版就可以得到其他两种结构。


尽管导言的行文和结构相对固定,但在翻译时仍要注意对细节的处理,避免信息的缺漏。


例1


原文:THIS ENGINE LEASE AGREEMENT (the “Lease”),made as of August 11, 2015, by and between , an international business company incorporated under the laws of Belize having its registered office at ___________(“Party A”), and ____, an international business company incorporated under the laws of Belize having its registered office at _____________ (“Party B”).


参考译文:本引擎租赁合同(以下简称“租赁合同”)于2015年8月11日由公司(以下简称“甲方”)一家依据伯利兹法律注册设立的国际商务公司,注册地址位于和公司(以下简称“乙方”),依据伯利兹法律注册设立的国际商务公司,注册地址位于共同签订。



2. 鉴于条款(Whereas clause)

鉴于条款主要说明了订立合同的背景和目的,陈述了合同各方当事人对事实的共同理解和认可,主要结构如下:

(1)WHEREAS + 陈述句;

WHEREAS + 陈述句;

WHEREAS + 陈述句.

(2) WHEREAS,

  (i) 陈述句;

  (ii) 陈述句;

  (iii) 陈述句.

鉴于条款的翻译十分简单,直接翻译为“鉴于……”即可,如下例:


例2


原文:

WHEREAS,the Vendors andthe Purchaser, and the Company entered into an agreement pursuant to which the Vendors agree to sell and the Purchaser agrees to purchase 49% of the issued share capital of the Company (the “Agreement”);

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Agreement, the Vendors have agreed to give certain indemnities in favor of the Purchaser and the Company as set out in this Deed.


参考译文:

鉴于卖方、买方和公司签订了一份协议(以下简称“协议”),并在协议中约定:卖方同意出售且买方同意购买公司已发行股本的49%;

鉴于根据该协议,卖方同意按照本契约中的约定赔偿买方和公司。


3. 过渡条款(Transition)

过渡条款确定了鉴于条款中的事实,并引入下文条款,起到了承上启下的作用。过渡条款行文结构较为固定,通常为固定表达,具体如下:

(1)NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto covenant and agree as follows:


参考译文:鉴于上述事实及其他业已足额收讫之有效并有价的约因,现各方达成一致并立约如下:


(2)NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the covenants herein, the parties hereto agree as follows:


参考译文:兹以上述各点和契约所载条款为约因,订约各方约定如下:


在实际应用中,很多合同起草人直接用“It is hereby agreed:”表达,简洁明了,这也是对冗长的英文合同条款的更新换代,可译为“特此约定如下:”。


从上文介绍的约首,我们就足以发现,英文合同中不仅采用了很多同义词的连用,如“made and entered into”、“by and between”、“good and valuable”,还对关键词均采用了字体加粗,提醒阅读者注意。这些都显示了英文合同行文谨慎、措辞准确的特点,体现了法律英语的准确性,因此在翻译时也要尽力做到语言表达精炼、准确,避免产生歧义。


(本文转自“译匠”公众号,已获授权)

发布于 2020-05-25 09:51:54
还没有评论
    旗渡客服