contract在法律文件中通常译为“合同”或“契约”;在香港,也译为“合约”。
例 The prospective new contractor will have the obligation to destroy the remaining anti-personnel mines within six months of the awarding of the contract.
【参考译文】有望承接这项工作的新的承包商将有义务在获得合同后六个月内销毁剩余的杀伤人员地雷。
例An alternate Director shall be entitled to contract and be interested in and benefit from contracts or arrangements or transactions and to be repaid expenses and to be indemnified to the same extent mutatis mutandis as if he were a Director, but he shall not be entitled to receive from the Company in respect of his appointment as alternate Director any remuneration except only such part (if any) of the remuneration otherwise payable to his appoint or as such appointor may by notice in writing to the Company from time to time direct.
【参考译文】替任董事有权订约及于合约或安排或交易中拥有权益或获益,并就此获偿付开支及获得弥偿(于作出必要之修订后),犹如其为董事而享有者,惟其无权从本公司就其委任为替任董事收取任何酬金,惟按其委任人可能不时以书面通知本公司所指示下原应付予其委任人的有关部份酬金﹙如有﹚除外。
常见的合同分类
bilateral contract (双务合同)与 unilateral contract (单务合同);
express contract (明示合同)与 implied contract (默示合同);
quasi contract or contract implied in law (准合同或法律推定合同);
executed contract (已履行的合同)与 executory contract (未履行的合同);
valid contract (有效合同)与void contract(无效合同);
voidable contract(可撤销合同),unenforceable contract(不可强制履行的合同),等等
学习contract一词,还需要注意其复数形式contracts,其除了表示contract的复数之外,还可以译为“合同法”。
例 Unlike torts and contracts,the criminal law involves public law.
【参考译文】与侵权法或合同法不同,刑法属于公法。
这句话中的contracts即是“合同法”的意思,与之并列的torts也不是指原意“侵权行为”,而是指“侵权法”
此外,阅读法律英语文件时,有时会遇到good contract,good contract并不是指“好合同”而是指“有效合同”。
区分contract和agreement
agreement (协议)和contract (合同)均指表示两个或两个以上之当事人合意( mutual consent)之文件。
在英美法中agreement经常被用作contract的同义词,但其内涵比contract要广( agreement is in some respects a broader term than contract ),它还常用作指不具备合同要素或要件的某些协议。总体说来,要使协议成为合同,必须符合合同的要件规定( only if it meets the requirements of a contract ),有时还需当事人在交易过程中通过语言或经交易过程或商业惯例等的默示予以补偿条件
参考
《英汉法律用语大辞典》
《法律英语核心术语:实务基础》(屈文生)
https://www.linguee.com/english-chinese/search?source=auto&query=contract