外貿(mào)英文合同寫作技巧

1、寫好合同的 50 招（中英）Before You Write the First Word第一部分 : 在動筆之前1. Ask your client to list the deal points. This can be in the form of a list, outline or narration. Doing this will help the client focus on the terms of the agreement.1. 要求你的客戶列出合同交易的要點 , 也可以說是合同的清單、目錄或概述。這一招首 幫助你的客戶弄清合同的重點所在。2. Engage your

2、client in "what if" scenarios. A good contract will anticipate many possible factual situations and express the parties' understanding in case those facts arise. Talking to your client about this will generate many issues you may not otherwise consider.2. 讓你的客戶提供一些假設(shè)可能發(fā)生的情況。好的合同不僅能夠預(yù)見到

3、許多可能發(fā)生的 情況，而且還能清楚地描述出發(fā)生這些情況后合同雙方的立場。和客戶聊這些情況將有助于 發(fā)現(xiàn)一些你可能沒有考慮到的問題。3. Ask your client for a similar contract. Frequently, clients have had similar transactions in the past or they have access to contracts for similar transactions.3. 請求你的客戶提供類似的合同。通常情況下，客戶都保留著過去的交易記錄或者是類 似合同。4. Search your office compu

4、ter or the Internet for a similar form. Many times you can find a similar form on your computer. It may be one you prepared for another client or one you negotiated with another lawyer. Just remember to find and replace the old client's name. Starting with an existing form saves time and avoids

5、the errors of typing.4. 在辦公室的電腦中或是在因特網(wǎng)上搜索類似的合同范本。通常你會在你的電腦上找到 你想要的東西，這些類似的合同范本要么是你給其他客戶準備的，要么是你和其他的律師共 同 協(xié)商起草的。使用這些舊合同可以為你節(jié)省時間和避免打印錯誤，不過，用這些合同范本時別忘了替換掉老客戶的名字。5. Obtain forms in books or CD-ROM. Typical forms of contracts can be found in form books, such as West's Legal Forms (a nationwide set) a

6、nd Florida Jur Forms, as well as in treatises and Florida Bar CLE publications. These can be used as the starting point for drafting the contract or as checklists of typical provisions and wording to include in the contract. Many treatises and form books now come with forms on disk or CD-ROM.5. 從書中或

7、者是光盤上獲取合同范本。典型的合同范本在一些范例書中都可能找到：比 如,西方法律文書 (全國版 )佛羅里達州文書期刊，另外，在有些論文和佛羅里達州律師協(xié)會的法律繼續(xù)教育出版物中也可以找到一些。起草合同時，你可以把這些范本當(dāng)做原始資料 , 利用其中 某些典型的條款和措詞。更為方便的是，許多論文和書中的合同范本都有電子文本 儲存在磁盤 或光盤中。6. Don't let your client sign a letter of intent without this wording. Sometimes clients are anxious to sign something to sh

8、ow good faith before the contract isprepared. A properly worded letter of intent is useful at such times. Just be sure that the letter of intent clearly states that it is not a contract, but that it is merely an outline of possible terms for discussion purposes. See Appendix C.有好地6. 如果沒有特別申明，不要讓你的客戶

9、在意向書上簽字。有時候，在合同未準備好之前， 客戶為了表示誠意，往往急于簽署某些東西，當(dāng)然，在這種情況下，如果客戶急于簽署的是 特別申明的意向書，這也是可以的，但一定要注明：本意向書并非合同，只是雙方為了更 溝通協(xié)商，而擬定的對未來條款的概述。類似意向書的范例見附錄C。Writing that First Word第二部分 : 開始起草合同7. Start with a simple, generic contract form. The form in Appendix A is such a form. It provides a solid starting point for the

10、structure of the contract. Like a house, a contract must have a good, solid foundation.7. 從簡單、典型的合同入手。附錄 A 就是一個簡單、典型的合同，它提供了一個合同的 基本支架。像房子一樣，一個合同必須有一個牢固的根基。8. State the correct legal names of the parties in the first paragraph. As obvious as this is, it is one of the most common problems in contract

11、s. For individuals, include full first and last name, and middle initials if available, and other identifying information, if appropriate, such as Jr., M.D., etc. For corporations, check with the Secretary of State where incorporated.8. 在合同的第一段要寫清楚雙方的名稱。，這是個簡單而又不得不引起重視的問題。如果是個人，要寫清姓和名，中間有大寫字母和其他身份信息

12、的，也要注明，例如：jr.,M.D, 等等；如果是公司 ,為避免弄錯 , 寫名稱時可以到公司注冊地的相應(yīng)機構(gòu)去核對一下。9. Identify the parties by nicknames. Giving each party a nickname in the first paragraph will make the contract easier to read. For example, James W. Martin would be nicknamed "Martin."9. 確定合同雙方的別稱 ( 簡稱 X 為便于閱讀 , 般要在合同的第一段為雙方弄一個別

13、稱，如：將詹姆士 . 馬丁簡寫為”馬丁”。10. Be careful when using legal terms for nicknames. Do not use "Contractor" as a nickname unless that party is legally a contractor. Do not use "Agent" unless you intend for that party to be an agent, and if you do, then you better specify the scope of autho

14、rity and other agency issues to avoid future disagreements.10. 使用法定術(shù)語作為雙方當(dāng)事人的別稱時，要小心。除非一方當(dāng)事人在法定上就是承包人，否則不要將”承包人“作為其別稱。同樣，除非你想讓一方當(dāng)事人成為法定上的代理人 , 否 則不要稱其為”代理人”，如果堅持要用，最好明確一下代理范圍并找到其他可以避免將來爭執(zhí)的方案。11. Include a blank for the date in the first paragraph. Putting the date in the first paragraph makes it eas

15、y to find after the contract is signed. It also makes it easy to describe the contract in other documents in a precise way, such as the "December 20, 2000 z Contract for Sale of Real Estate."你就能夠很容易地找到它，而且，這樣做還可以給你在其他相關(guān)文件中準確地描述這個合同提供幫助，范例如：不動產(chǎn)買賣合同，訂立于2000年12月20日12. In elude to provide back

16、gro und. Recitals are the "whereas" clauses thatprecede the body of a con tract. They provide a simple way to bring the con tract's reader (party, judge or jury) up to speed on what the con tract is about, who the parties arez why they are sig ning a con tract, etc. The first paragraph

17、 in the body of the con tract can in corporate the recitals by reference and state that they are true and correct. This will avoid a later argument as to whether or not the recitals are a legally binding part of the con tract.12. 書寫弓|述語。引述語是指那些放在合同主體前面的”鑒于”條款。書寫此類條款的目的是為了讓讀者 (通常指合同雙方，法官，陪審團)很快地了解到合同

18、的主要內(nèi)容是什么，合同雙方是誰，以及他們?yōu)槭裁春炗喓贤?，等等。?dāng)然，合同主體的第一段也可以加上引述語并陳述其是真實準確的，如果這樣做了，合同雙方將來就不會爭執(zhí)：引述語作為合同的一部分是否具有法律效力？13. Outl ine the con tract by writ ing out and un derl ining paragraph headi ngs in their logical order. The paragraphs should flow in logical, organized fashion. It is not necessary to write them all

19、 at once; you can write them as you think of them. Try to group related con cepts in the same paragraphs or in adjace nt paragraphs. For example, write an employme nt con tract's in itial paragraph headi ngs like this: Recitals.Employme nt.Duties.Term.Compe nsati on.13. 按邏輯III贍列岀合同段落的標題詞.合同的段落是按

20、一定的邏輯III贍組織起來的，當(dāng) 然，你并不需要一下子列出所有段落的標題詞，想到多少就寫多少，不過，這些標題詞要力 求總結(jié)岀每個段落或相關(guān)段落的內(nèi)容。比如：撰寫勞動合同時列岀的標題詞就像下面這些： 引述語聘用 職責(zé) 期限 賠償14. Complete each paragraph by writ ing the con tract terms that apply to that paragraph. This is simple. You lear ned this in eleme ntary school. Just expla in in words what the parties

21、agree to do or not do paragraph by paragraph.14. 在撰寫每一段時要注意內(nèi)容集中，不要東拉西扯，是的，這很簡單，你可能上小學(xué)時就學(xué)過，但我還是要提醒你,要集中火力，一段一段地分別說明合同雙方同意做什么，不同意做什么。15. Keep a pad at hand to remember clauses to add. It is normal to think of additi onal clauses, word ing and issues while writi ng a con tract. Jot these dow n on a pad

22、 as you write; they are easily forgotten. Also keep your client's outline and other forms in front of you as you write, and check off items as you write them.15. 放一個便箋簿在手邊，以便記下需要添加的條款。在書寫合同的同時，你可能隨時好將客戶列岀的要點和一些類似的合同范本也放在眼前，以便在書寫過程中隨時查對。16. Repeat yourself only whe n repetiti on is n ecessary to

23、improve clarity.Ambiguity is created by saying the same thing more than once; it is almost impossible to say it twice without creating ambiguity. Only if the concept is a difficult one should you write it in more tha n one way .In additi on, if you use an example to clarify a difficult con cept or f

24、ormula, be sure that all possible meanings are con sidered and that the example is accurate and consistent with the concept as worded.16. 除非是為了更清晰地說明問題，否則不要在合同中重復(fù)陳述某個內(nèi)容。將一個事實來回地說很容易讓人模棱兩可。如果你將一個概念重復(fù)地解釋，那理解起來就更有困難。另夕卜，如果你想通過一個例子來闡明一個難以理解的概念或規(guī)則時，一定要考慮到其所有的含義、這個例子的準確性以及它和概念的相符性。What to Watch Out for Wh

25、en Writ ing第三部分：撰寫時的注意事項17. Title it "Contract." Do not leave this one to chanee. If your client wants a con tract call it a con tract. Ajudge now sitti ng on the federal bench once ruled that a docume nt en titled "Proposal" was not a con tract eve n though sig ned by both parti

26、es. The less on lear ned is, "Say what you mean ."If you intend the docume nt to be a legally binding con tract, use the word "Con tract "in the title.17標題上注明”合同”兩字。不要為碰運氣而忽略這個。如果你的客戶需要合同，就要文件并非合同。這給我們的教訓(xùn)就是，你怎么想，就應(yīng)該怎么說。如果你想讓你的文件成有法律效力的合同，就要在標題中注明”合同“字樣。18. Write in short sentence

27、s. Short sentences are easier to understand than long on es.18. 寫短句子，因為短句子比長句子讓人更容易理解。19. Write in active ten se, rather tha n passive. Active tense sentences are shorter and use words more efficie ntly, and their meaning is more appare nt. Example of active: "Sellers shall sell the Property to

28、 Buyer." Example of passive: "The Property shall be sold to Buyer by Seller."19. 用主動語態(tài)而不用被動語態(tài)。相對而言，主動語態(tài)的句子更簡短，措詞更精練，表更明白。還是讓我們來來看一個例子吧，主動語態(tài)的句子：賣方將把此物賣給買方；被動句子：此物將被賣方賣給買方。20. Don't use the word "biweekly." It has two meanings: twice a week and every other week. The same a

29、pplies to "bimo nthly." I nstead, write "every other week" or "twice a week."20. 不要用雙周之類的詞，因為這有可能產(chǎn)生歧義一 是兩周還是每隔一周？類似詞還有”雙月“，所以最好這樣寫：”兩周”或”每隔一周二21. Don't say things like "active termites and organisms". Avoid ambiguity bywriting either "active termites

30、and active organisms" or "organisms and activetermites." When adding a modifier like "active" before a compound of nouns like為具達語態(tài)的"termites and organisms", be sure to clarify whether you intend the modifier to apply to both nouns or just the first on e. If you int

31、end it to apply to both, use parallelcon struct ion and write the modifier in front of each noun. If you intend it to apply to just one noun, place that one noun at the end of the list and the modifier directly in front of it.21. 不要說”活動著的白蟻和有機體“之類的話，為了避免模棱兩可，最好這樣寫：活動著的白蟻和活動著的有機體或是白蟻和活動著的有機體當(dāng)一組名詞（如”白

32、蟻和有機體”）前有一個修飾語（如”活動著的”）時，你一定要弄清楚這個修飾語是修飾兩個名詞還是僅僅修飾第一個名詞。如果是修飾兩個詞，可以用排比的手法分別在這兩個詞之前加上修飾語，如果你只想修飾一個名詞 ，那么你就應(yīng)該把這個詞放在這組詞的最后，然后在它的前面加上修飾語。22. Don't say "Lessor" and "Lessee." These are bad nicknames for a lease becausethey are easily reversed or mistyped. Use "La ndlord"

33、 and "Te nan t' 'in stead. The same applies to lie nor and lie nee, mortgagor and mortgagee, gra ntor and gran tee, lice nsor and licensee, party A and party B. This is where you can use your creativity to come up with a different nickname for a party, as long as you use it consistently

34、 throughout the con tract.22. 不要說岀租人和承租人。這對一個租賃合同來說是些不好的別稱，因為他們?nèi)菀妆活嵉够蛘邔绗F(xiàn)打印錯誤?？梢杂梅繓| “和房客來代替他們。同樣，在合同中也不要說留置權(quán)人和留置人，抵押權(quán)人和抵才甲人，保證人和被保證人，許可人和被許可人，當(dāng)事人A和當(dāng)事人B.到底怎么說，這就要看你駕馭語言的能力了，不過，要把握的一條原則，即在整個合同中，對合同一方只能用一個別稱。23. Watch out whe n using "here in." Does "wherever used here in" mea nany w

35、here in the con tract or any where in the paragraph? Clarify this ambiguity if it matters.(10). This will reduce the23. 使用術(shù)語本文（herein z也可譯為"在這里”）時要當(dāng)心。為了避免含糊不清, 使用本文“時最好特別申明一下本文“是指整個合同，還是指其所在的某一段落。24. Write numbers as both words and numerals: ten cha nee for errors.24. 寫數(shù)目時要文字和阿拉伯?dāng)?shù)字并用，如：拾(這將減少一些

36、不經(jīng)意的錯誤。25. Whe n you write "in cludi ng" con sider addi ng "but not limited to." Uni ess you intend the list to be all-inclusive, you had better clarify your intent that it is merely an example.25. 如果你想用”包括”這個詞，就要考慮在其后加上”但不限于.”的分句。除非你能夠 列岀所有被包括的項，否則最好用”但不限于的分句，來說明你只是想舉個例子。26. Don

37、't rely on the rules of grammar. The rules of grammar that you learned in school are not uni versal. The judge or jury in terpreti ng the meaning of your con tract may have lear ned differe nt rules. Write the con tract so that no matter what rules they lear ned, the con tract is clear and un am

38、biguous. Follow this test for clear writ ing: Remove all periods and commas, the n read it. Choos ing the right words and plac ing them in the right place makes the writing clear without punctuation.26. 不要依賴于語法規(guī)則。那些你在學(xué)校里得到的語法規(guī)則并不是放之四海而皆準的東西，因為有權(quán)力來解釋此合同的法官或陪審團成員學(xué)的語法規(guī)則可能和你學(xué)的不一樣，但不管學(xué)的是什么規(guī)則，撰寫合同都要遵循一個基本

39、原則：簡潔、明確。檢測你寫的東西是否達到這況下,個要求有個好辦法，那就是去掉所有的句號和逗號，然后去讀它。在沒有標點符號的情選擇正確的詞語放在正確的位置上，這將使你寫岀來的東西更簡明，更流暢。27. Don't be creative with words. Con tract writ ing is not creative writ ing and is n ot meant to provoke reflective thoughts or con troversies about nuan ces of meaning. Con tract writi ng is clear,

40、 direct and precise. Therefore, use com mon words and com mon meanin gs. Write for the com mon man and the com mon woma n.27. 不要創(chuàng)造詞語。合同文書不是創(chuàng)造性的作品，也就不能因為意思的細微差別而引起 考或爭論。合同文書應(yīng)該是清晰、直接而準確的。因此，要使用普通的詞語，表達普通的 思，為普通人撰寫合同。28. Be consistent in using words. If you refer to the subject matter of a sales con tr

41、act as "goods" use that term throughout the con tract; do not alternately call them "goods" and "items." Maintaining consistency is more important than avoiding repetiti on. Don't worry about putt ing the reader to sleep; worry about the oppos ing lawyer a year from

42、 now hun ti ng for ambiguities to get your con tract into court.28. 用詞一致。在一份銷售合同中，如果你想用貨物來指整個合同的標的物時而稱它們?yōu)樨浳?，時而又改稱它們?yōu)楫a(chǎn)品保持用詞一致性比避免重復(fù)更加重要。擔(dān)心這會讓讀者打瞌睡；你應(yīng)該提防的是對方律師會因為含糊不清的合同而將你告上法29. Be consistent in grammar and punctuation. The rules of grammar and pun ctuati on you lear ned may differ from others, but y

43、ou had better be con siste nt in your use of them. Be aware of such thi ngs as where you put ending quote marks, whether you place commas after years and states, and similar variations in style.29. 在文法和標點符號上保持一致。你可能學(xué)過許多不同類的文法和標點符號規(guī)則，但思丿意、,就不要 不要 庭。使用它們時最好保持一致。要特別注意句末的引號、時間和地點之后的逗號以及文風(fēng)的相30. Consider

44、including choice of law, venue selection, and attorneys fee clauses. If your con tract gets litigated, you might as well give your clie nt some "am mun iti on" for the fight. Examples of these clauses appear in Appe ndices A andc.30. 可以在合同中加入準據(jù)法、審判地、律師費等條款。有了這些條款，一旦合同引起訴訟，你就已經(jīng)為了你的客戶打這場訴訟戰(zhàn)準

45、備了_些彈藥。類似的條款見附錄 A和Bo Writefor the Judge and Jury第四部分：要為法官和陪審團考慮31. Assume the reader is a kno wledgeable layma n. If your writi ng is so clear thata layman could understand it, then it is less likely it will end up in court.31. 要假設(shè)合同的讀者是一個受過教育的外行，如果你書寫的合同簡明得連一個外行都能理解，那么即使到了法庭上，你也不用害怕。32. Define a wo

46、rd by capitalizing it and putting it in quotes. Capitalizing a wordindicates that you intend it to have a special meaning. The following are two sample clauses for defi ning terms:Wherever used in this con tract, the word "Goods" shall mean the goods that Buyer has agreed to purchase from

47、Seller un der this con tract.Buyer hereby agrees to purchase from Seller ten (10) fryi ng pans, here in after called the "Goods."32. 強調(diào)一個合同術(shù)語可以這樣做：加上雙引號并將其開頭的字母大寫。將一個詞語的開頭字母大寫表明你想讓它有一個特別的意思。下面有兩個定義術(shù)語的例子：%1.本合同中使用的貨物（“GoodS'）是指買方已經(jīng)同意向賣方購買的貨物；%1.本合同中買方同意向賣方購買的拾（10 ）只平底鍋，即下文中的貨物（aGoods）。3

48、3. Define words whe n first used. In stead of writi ng a sect ion of defi niti ons at thebegi nning or end of a con tract, con sider defi ning terms and con cepts as they first appear in the con tract. This will make it easier for the reader to follow.33. 第一次使用某個術(shù)語時就要下定義。定義合同術(shù)語不是在合同的開頭，也不是在合同的結(jié)尾，而是在

49、這個術(shù)語第一次岀現(xiàn)的時候，這樣做，有利于讀者更好地理解合同。34. Expla in tech ni cal terms and con cepts. Remember that the parties mightun dersta nd tech ni cal jarg on, but the judge and jury who in terpret and apply thecon tract do not. Therefore, explai n the con tract's terms and con cepts within thecon tract itself. Le

50、t the con tract speak for itself from within its four cor ners.34. 勤于解釋合同中的術(shù)語和概念。要記住合同雙方的當(dāng)事人可能會理解合同中某些專用術(shù)語，但法官和陪審團卻可能一無所知。所以撰寫合同時要讓合同自己為自己釋義。Keep Your Clie nt In formed While You Write第五部分：書寫時要常和你的客戶溝通35. All con tracts should come with a cover letter. This gives you a place to in struct your clie n

51、t on how to use and sig n the con tract.35. 所有的合同都應(yīng)該有一封說明書用來告訴你的客戶如何使用和簽署合同36. Tell your clie nt the ideas that come as you write. Many ideas will occur to you as you write: things that could go wrong with the deal, things that might happen in the future, things that happened in the past, ways to st

52、ructure things better. Write these in your letter to the clie nt.36. 告訴客戶你在撰寫過程中的一些想法。比如：哪些事情可能會隨著交易變得很遭，哪些事可能會在將來發(fā)生，哪些事情已經(jīng)發(fā)生了，哪些可以讓事情朝好的方向發(fā)展的方法. 你最好在給客戶的說明書中都將這些都寫上。37. Inform your client of the risks. Writing a letter to the client as you write the con tract is the perfect way to inform the clie n

53、t of the risks and rewards of en teri ng into the con tract. Freque ntly, problems do not become appare nt un til time is spe nt trying to word a con tract.37. 告訴客戶合同的風(fēng)險所在。在撰寫合同時，你最好向客戶說訂立合同需要承擔(dān)的風(fēng)險和能夠得到的利益。通常情況下，只要你花時間來起草合同，你就會發(fā)現(xiàn)真正的風(fēng)險在哪里。What To Do Aft er the First Draft Is Writte n第六部分：完成初稿后做什么38.

54、Check spelling, paragraph numbering, and cross references both manuallyand with your word processor's spelling and grammar checker. This almost goeswithout say ing today, especially si nee Micro so 代 Word now checks your spell ing and grammar as you type. (Unfortunately it also changes "per

55、 stirpes" to "per stupid" if you fail to watch it closely.) And now there are eve n computer programs that check con tract docume nts for un defi ned terms. Deal Proof is packaged with CorelWordPerfect for law offices, and DocProofReader is available for dow nl oad for MSWord 97 and 2

56、000.38核實合同的拼寫情況、段落序號以及上下文的注解，你可以自己手動來做，也可以用文字編輯軟件中的拼寫和語法檢查功能來完成，特別是自從有了微軟的word軟件后，做這 樣的工作你似乎不要費多少精力 （但機器有時也不可靠，如果你不看仔細，它就會把“per stirpes改變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)在，這類專業(yè)的軟件甚至可以幫你檢測到合同中沒有釋義的術(shù)語，如：Corel公司專門為法律辦公開發(fā)的文字處理軟件包中的DealProof軟件，還 有可供word97和word2000下載安裝的 DocProofReader軟件。39. Let your secretary or paralegal read it. Not

57、only will your staff frequently find spelling and grammar errors missed by your word processor's spell checker; but they will find inconsistencies and confusing areas that you missed when draft: ing.39. 讓你的秘書或者助手閱讀你草擬的合同。你的同事不僅能通過文字處理軟件來幫你檢查到你沒有查到的拼寫和語法錯誤，而且他們還能發(fā)現(xiàn)你起草時沒有察覺到的矛盾和混淆之處。40. Stamp &quo

58、t;Draft: #1 6/22/2000" on it. This may be the first of many drains, soavoid confusion early by numbering and dating all drafts at the top of the first page. Itis also a good idea to write "DRAFT" across the face of each page to preclude thepossibility of an impatie nt clie nt sig ning

59、 a draft rather tha n wait ing for the final vers ion.40. 在合同上注明第一稿于 200年6月22日"，第一稿完成后，可能還要草擬幾個版 本，為了避免他們之間相互混淆，最好在每份草稿首頁的頂部注上序號和起草時間。另外，在本就每一個版本的封面上注明草稿字樣，也能夠避免你那急躁的客戶不等到最后的定稿文急于簽字41. Let your client read it. Letting the client in on reading the first draft assuresthat your drafting will stay

60、in tune with the client's wishes.41. 讓你的客戶讀你草擬的合同。你的客戶讀第一稿，可以確保你的起草的東西和客戶的愿望相符。42. Save the drafts as multiple files on your computer. If you save the first draft: on your computer as two files, you will have one file identified as the first draft and the other ide ntified as the curre nt vers ion. This can be done by