第十八章 商务合同的翻译
一、商务合同的种类
合同类文件是具有法律性质的文件,主要包括合同、契约、协议和意向等,是双方当事人或单位就某一经济或商业活动过程中协商达成的协议,对当事双方具有约束力,因此也被人称为“契约文体”。这种协议可以是很正规的,也可以是非正式的、民间性质的(如租房协议)。本章讨论的合同主要指正式的涉外商务合同,即中国国内企业或其他经济组织同外国的企业、经济组织或个人之间为实现一定的经济目的、进行商品交换、融资、经济技术合作和交流等活动所依法签订的、明确双方权利义务关系的书面协议。 涉外商务合同范围广泛、种类繁多。例如;在商品交易方面,有国际货物买卖合同、成套设备进口合同、包销合同、代理合同、寄售合同、易货合同、保管合同、补偿贸易合同等。 还有在劳务服务方面,投资方面,资金融通方面等等。这些合同虽然种类繁多,但一般都遵循国际惯例且具有官方性质,因此其篇章结构与格式非常正规且具有程式化、条目化、趋向化的特点。
二、涉外商务合同的结构及篇章特点
前面我们讲过,国际商务合同范围广泛、种类繁多,标的各异,但就其结构而言,一般由三个部分组成:前言、正文、结尾。我们再来回顾一下: 首先,合同的前言(Preamble of a contract) 国际商务合同的前言部分,主要包括两个方面的内容:其一,主要载明合同当事人的名称或者姓名、国际、主营业务或者住所(The corporate or personal names of the parties to the contract and their nationalities, principal places of business or residential address);其二,合同签订的日期、地点(the dare and place of signing of the contract)。以上两项内容主要解决以下法律问题:订约人是否具有合法主体资格,合同及合同争议应适用的法律;合同履行地点;合同生效、终止、履行日期及争议时的司法管辖权等等。
[例1] 本合同由中国ABC公司, 总公司设于中国上海(以下简称卖方)与美国XYZ公司, 总公司设于美国纽约州纽约市(以下简称买方)于1998年3月29日订立于中国上海,双方同意按下述条件买卖下列货物: This contract is made this 29th day of March, 1998 in shanghai, China by and between ABC Corporation. China (hereinafter referred to as “Seller”), a Corporation having their principal office in Shanghai, China who agree to sell, and XYZ Corporation (hereinafter referred to as “Buyer”), a Corporation having their principal office in New York, N.Y.,USA, who agrees to buy the following goods on the terms and conditions as below:
[例2] 合同号码:(经合字)第0081号 签约日期:1998年3月29日 签约地点:中国上海 卖方:中国ABC公司 地址:中国上海 街 号 公司属国:中华人民共和国 电传: 传真: 邮编: 电子信箱: 买方:美国XYZ公司 地址:美国纽约州纽约市 街 号 公司属国:美利坚合众国 电传: 传真: 邮编: 电子信箱: Contract Number: JH ZI, No. 0081 Date of Execution of Contract: March, 29, 1998 Place of Execution of Contract: Shanghai, China. Seller: ABC Corporation, China. Address: No. , St., Shanghai, China. Country of Corporation: People’s Republic of China. Telex: Fax: Postcode: E-mail: Buyer: XYZ Corporation, USA Address: No. , ST., New York, N.Y. USA Country of Corporation: United States of America Telex: Fax: Postcode: E-mail: 其次其次其次其次,,,,合同的正文合同的正文合同的正文合同的正文(Main Body of a Contract) 国际商务合同的正文部分是合同的实质性的条款,通常由以下内容组成:
(1)合同的类型和合同的种类、范围(The type of contract and the categories and scope of the object of the contract) 翻译这部分内容,应该注意下列问题:第一,合同的类型是指合同属于国际货物销售合同(contract for international sale of goods)、专有技术许可证合同(license/know-how contract)、成套设备技术引进合同(contract for introduction of complete plant and technology)还是其他合同(other contracts);第二,合同标的是指合同当事人各方权利、义务所指向的对象,没有标的或标的不明确的合同是无法履行的。
(2)合同标的技术条件、质量、标准、规格、数量(The technical conditions, quality, standards, specifications and quantities of the object of the contract) 合同标的质量和数量,是确定合同标的最重要的条件。涉外商务合同要有明确、具体的数量和质量要求。
(3)合同履行的期限、地点和方式(Time limit, place and method of performance) 履行期限主要指履行合同义务的时间界线,这是确定合同是否按时履行或迟延履行的标准。履行地点是指约定履行义务的地方。国际商务合同的履行地点往往涉及到不同的国家或地区,直接关系到当事人个方面所应承担的风险责任和费用。
(4)合同价格条件、支付金额、支付方式和各种附加的费用(The price terms, amount to be paid, ways of payment, and various types of additional charges) 这项内容实质上是由两部分组成,即:价格条款和支付条款。价格条款(terms of payment)往往涉及许多复杂的内容。有时,它不仅是个价格问题,而且涉及合同各方面承担的责任、分险和费用等问题。如国际货物销售合同中常用的两个价格术语:FOB(船上交货free on board or FREE ON BOARD)和CIF(保险运费在内价或者成本,运费加保险费cost, insurance, freight or COST, INSURANCE, FREIGHT),当事人选择不同的价格术语,其承担的责任是截然不同的。因此,价格条款往往是双方当事人商谈的重点。支付条款也是涉外合同的中较敏感的条款,它不仅涉及到不同国家的货币、外汇制度,还涉及到结算方式等一系列复杂的问题。
(5)合同能否转让和合同转让条件(Whether or not the contract may be assigned or the conditions for assignment) 合同转让实质上是一种特殊的合同变更,即合同条款一方将合同中的权利或义务的全部或部分转让给合同另一方或合同以外第三方,是主体的变更。
(6)违反合同的赔偿和其他责任(The compensation and other liabilities for breach of contract) 违反涉外合同的责任是指涉外合同的当事人不履行合同、不完全履行合同、不符合双方在合同中约定的条件时,依有关法律的规定或合同的约定应承担的经济责任,对于保证合同的履行,促使合同当事人全面履行合同中约定的义务有着重要的意义。 至于当事人,若一方违反涉外合同应承担的责任和承担责任的方式,当事人可以在合同中约定违约金(penalty),也可以约定赔偿损失(compensation for losses),也可以约定支付利息(payment of interest)、中止履行合同(suspension of the contract performance)或解除合同(cancellation of the contract)。
(7)合同发生争议时的解决方法(methods for resolving disputes arising under the contract) 《中华人民共和国合同法》第128条规定:“当事人可以通过和解或者调节解决合同争议。 涉外合同的当事人可以根据仲裁机构或者其他仲裁机构申请仲裁。当事人没有订立仲裁协议或者仲裁协议无效的,可以向人民法院起诉。”(The parties may settle their contract disputes through conciliation or mediation….The parties to a contract involving foreign interests may, in accordance with an arbitration agreement, apply to Chinese arbitration organization or other arbitration organizations for arbitration. If the parties have not concluded an arbitration agreement or if the arbitration agreement is invalid, they may file a suit with a people’s court) 根据以上规定,涉外合同发生争议时,其解决的方法有四种,即:和解(conciliation)、调解(mediation)、仲裁(arbitration)和诉讼(lawsuit)。
(8)明确风险责任,约定保险范围(The limits of the risks to be borne by the parties in performing the object and the coverage of insurance of the object) 国际商务合同的履行,大多数时限长,路途远,可能受到多种因素的干扰,产生各种不测的事件,如洪水、水灾、盗窃、海难、经营不善等。这类风险一旦发生,可能造成损失,从而产生承担风险损失的责任问题。因此,明确风险责任,避免引起不必要的争议,对于国际商务合同的各方面都是十分重要的。风险往往和保险是联系在一起的,为了使风险造成的损失及时得到经济上的补偿,就需要办理保险,办理保险的实质是一旦发生风险责任,当事人可以将其转移给保险公司。
(9)合同的有效期限,以及可以延长合同期限和提前终止合同的条件(A period of validity for the contract and conditions for contractual extension and contractual termination before its expiration) 对于需要较长期间连续履行的合同(a contract which needs to be performed continuously over a long period),当事人可以约定合同的有效期限,并可以约定有效期限届满时,延长合同的期限的条件或提前终止合同有效的条件。需要较长期间连续履行的合同,主要指合资经营企业合同(contracts for sino-foreign joint ventures)、合作经营企业合同(contract for sino-foreign contractual joint ventures)、成套设备技术引进合同(contracts for introduction of complete plant and technology)、国际承包工程合同(contracts for works of civil engineering construction)等。
[例3] 1) 货物名称 2) 规格、数量和价格 3) 总金额(按美圆计) 4) 生产国和制造商 5) 包装:包装必须适于海上运输、坚固、耐野蛮装运。紧压打包、外加紧箍gu,内层防水,外层为优质帆布。箱子或其他外包装体积要尽量小,并能确保货物安全。每件包装的两侧和一端须完整刷上标志和装运号码,采用优质印色,字大而清晰。每包均须标明“请勿用钩”。 6) 装运唛头 XYZ 0081 NEW YORK No. I—100 Notes: (XYZ—收货人名称代码收货人名称代码收货人名称代码收货人名称代码,,,,0081—合同号合同号合同号合同号,,,,NEW YORK—目的港目的港目的港目的港,,,,No. I—100 包装编号包装编号包装编号包装编号)))) 7) 装运期:2003年3月下旬装运。但要以卖方2000年1月下旬以前收到可接受信用证为条件,不允许分批装运。 8) 装运港; 9) 目的港; 10)付条款;凭一流银行开出的不可撤消的即期信用证付款,信用证以卖方为受益人,并按照货物金额100%开据。 11)保险:按发票金额100%投保水渍险和偷盗及提货不着险和战争险,若发生索赔,则在纽约以美圆支付。 战争险保费按0.1%计算,若成交后,保费超过0.1%,其超额部分由买方负担;若战争险无人承保,卖方可不保此险。 因此,信用证必须规定:“若战争险保费超过0.1%,受益人有权收取超过信用证金额部分的保险费,或不投保此险。” 12)单据:卖方应准备以下单据提交买方: (1)商业发票 份; (2)全套清洁已装船提单,提货人为 ; (3)保险单; (4)质量检验证; (5)原产地证; (6)装箱单; (7)装船通知; (8)以下其他单据: 。 13)过期利息: 如买方未能按期支付到期款项,买方应付卖方从到期日算至实际支付时间,年利率为 %的过期利息。一经卖方提出,买方应支付该过期利息。 14)检验: (1)卖方应在装运前向检验机构申请货物质量、规格、数量、重量、包装及安全和卫生/保健方面要求的检验,该检验将根据 标准。 上述检验机构出具的检验证书将是议付时提交的必备单据之一。 检验机构为: 。 (2)为了确保货物要求和其他要求,买方有权利在货到最终目的地后向检验机构申请货物的复检验。 复检验机构为: 15)违约金: (1)未按期交货 如果卖方由于自身原因未能按合同规定按期交付全部货物,卖方应向买方支付违约金。违约金将在迟延交货后每 天按所迟交货总价的 %收取,但违约金不能超过迟交货物总价的 %。为了便于计算违约金,不足 天的小数按 天计算。 (2)未按期开立信用证 如果买方由于自身原因未能按合同规定及时开立信用证,买方应支付卖方违约金。违约金将在迟延开立信用证 天按信用在金额的 %收取,但违约金不能超过买方应开立信用证总金额的 %。为了便于计算违约金,不足 天的小数按 天计算。 (3)上述迟延所引起的损失的赔偿将仅限于第15条第1款和第15条第2款中所示的违约金。 16) 不可抗力: 任何一方如果由于洪水、火灾、地震、雪暴、雹暴、龙卷风、战争、政策禁令或其 他在合同执行时无法预见并不能控制、不可避免或无法克服的事件致使不能或迟延履行合同的全部或一部分时,该方不承担责任,但是,受不可抗力影响的一方应立即通知另一方,并不晚于事件发生后15天向另一方航空邮寄有关当局或独立的中立第三方出具的发生此种事件的证明书或文件。 17)索赔: (1)除了第三方应负责的索赔,如发现货物的质量、规格、数量、重量、包装及涉及安全或卫生/保险等方面和合同的规定不一致,买方应对卖方发出书面通知并有权根据第14条第2款中所述的有关检验当局出具的检验证书对卖方提出索赔。索赔应该在卸货港卸货完成后21 天内提出。如发生不一致,卖方应立即修理或更换这些货物或者补足数量。 如果买方未在上述期限内提出索赔,则买方将视为放弃对货物数量不足或明显的质量瑕疵索赔的权利。 (2)卖方应不晚于收到第14条第2款中所示的检验机构出具的检验证明后7日内答复买方的索赔,如果卖方未能在上述时限内答复,则视为已接受索赔。 18)合同的解除: 除非双方另有约定,该合同将在下述情形之下解除: (1)双方共同达成书面协议; (2)如果另一方未能在合同规定的时限内履行其义务,并且在收到未违约方的通知后7天内消除违约或采取补救措施,在此情况下,未违约方应书面通知违约方解除合同。 19)通知:以后双方之间所有的通知都应书写、或手交、或传真或电传、或快传邮递,当手交时,或传真或电传发出一天后,或邮寄收妥时,将被认为是已交出,通讯地址将是本合同的前言所载的地址,即: 中国ABC公司 地址:中国上海 街 号 公司属国:中华人民共和国 电传: 传真: 邮编: 电子信箱: 美国XYZ公司 地址:美国纽约州纽约市 街 号 公司属国:美利坚合众国 电传: 传真: 邮编: 电子信箱: 20)国际贸易术语 除非合同中另有规定,本合同的条款将按国际商务制订的《2000年国际贸易术语解释通则》(INCOTERMS 2000)来解释。 21)仲裁:一切因执行本合同引起的争议,均应由双方友好协商解决。如协商不能 解决,则应提交仲裁,仲裁应在被告所在国进行。如仲裁在中国,应提交上海中国国际贸易促进委员会对外贸易仲裁委员会,按照其仲裁规则进行仲裁。如仲裁在美国,应提交纽约国际贸易促进委员会对外贸易仲裁委员会,按照其仲裁规则进行仲裁。该仲裁委员会的裁决为终局性的,对双方均有约束力,仲裁费用,除非仲裁委员会另有裁定,即由败方承担。 1. Name of Commodity; 2. Specifications, Quantity and Unit Price; 3. Total Value (USD); 4. Country of Origin and Manufactures; 5. Packing; Packing must be suitable for ocean shipment and sufficiently strong to withstand rough handing. Bales must be press packed and hoped, with adequate inside waterproof protection and the outer wrapping must comprise good quality canvas. Cases or other outside containers must be externally of the smallest cubic dimension consistent with adequate protection of the goods. Package must bear full marks and shipping numbers stenciled in good quality stencil ink in large plain characters on two sides and one end of each package. All bales must be marked “use no hooks”. 6. Shipping Mark: XYZ 0081 New York No. 1—100 7. Time of shipment: Shipment within the last ten-day period of March, 2000, subject to acceptable Letter of Credit reaches sellers before the last ten-day period of January, 2000, and partial shipment is not allowed. 8. Port of Shipment; 9. Port of Destination; 10. Payment: By a prime banker’s Irrevocable Sight Letter of Credit in Seller’s favor, for 100% value of goods. 11. Insurance: Insurance to cover W’A. plus T. P. N. D. and War Risk for 110% of CIF value and to provide for claims if any, payable in new York in U. s. Currency. War Risk premium is calculated at 0.1%, if it is higher than 0.1% after the conclusion of the contract, the excess premium shall be for the Buyer’s account and if War Risk insurance is not obtainable, the Seller may be exempted from providing such insurance. Therefore, the Letter of Credit must include the following clause: “if War Risk premium is higher than 0.1%, beneficiary is authorized to draw the difference in excess of the letter of Credit amount, or to exempt from providing such insurance”. 12. Documents: The following documents shall be prepared by the Seller and submitted to the Buyer: (1)Commercial Invoice in Copy (ies); (2) Full set of clean on board ocean bills of Lading made out to ; (3) Insurance Policy; (4) Quality Inspection Certificate; (5)Certificate of Origin; (6)Packing List; (7)Notice of Shipment; (8) The following other Documents: 13. Overdue Interest: If the Buyer fails to pay any amount when due, the Buyer shall be liable to pay to the Seller overdue interest or such unpaid amount from the due date until the actual date of payment at the rate of percent per annum. Such overdue interest shall be paid upon demand of the Seller. 14. Inspection: (1) The Seller shall, before the time of shipment, apply to inspection organization for inspection of the quality, specification, quantity, weight, packing and requirements for safety and sanitation/hygiene of the Goods in accordance with standards. The inspection certificate issued by the said inspection organization shall be integral part of the documents to be presented for payment. (2) For the purpose of warranty and other claims, the Buyer shall have the right to apply to the inspection organization for the re-inspection of the Goods after the arrival of the Goods at the final destination. Re-Inspection Organization: . 15. Penalty: (1) Failure to Make Timely Delivery. In the event the Seller for its own for its own sake fails to make delivery of all the goods on time as stipulated in this contract, the Seller shal pay a penalty to the Buyer. The penalty shall be changed at the rate of % of the amount of the delayed goods for every days of delay in delivering the goods, however, the penalty shall not exceed % of the total value of goods involved in the late delivery. Any fractional days less than days shall be deemed to be days for calculation of penalty. (2) Failure to Timely Open the Letter of Credit In the event that the Buyer for its own sake fails to open the Letter of Credit on time as stipulated in this contract, the Buyer shall pay penalty to the Seller. The penalty shall be changed at the rate of % of the amount of the Letter of Credit for every days of delay in opening the Letter of Credit, however, the penalty shall not exceed % of the total value involved in the Letter of Credit of amount. Any fractional days less than day shall be deemed to be days for the calculation of penalty. (3) The penalty provided for in clause 15.1 and/or 15.2 shall be the sole compensation for damages caused by such delay. 16. Force Majeure: Neither party shall be held responsible for failure or delay to perform all or any part of this Contract due to flood, fire, earthquake, snowstorm, hailstorm, hurricane, war, government prohibition or any other events that are unforeseeable at the time of the execution of this Contract and could not be controlled, avoided or overcome by such party. However, the party whose performance is affected by the event of Force Majeure shall give a notice to the other party of its occurrence as soon as possible and a certificate or a document of the occurrence of the Force Majeure event issued by the relative authority or a neutral independent third party shall be sent to the other party by airmail not later than 15 days after its occurrence. 17. Claims: (1) Except those claims for which a third party is liable, should the quality, specifications, quantity, weight, packing and requirements for safety or sanitation/hygiene of the goods be found not in conformity with the stipulations to this Contract, the buyer shall give a written notice to Seller and shall have the Inspection Certificate issued by the Inspection Organization provided in Clause 14.2 to this Contract within 21 days from the date of completion of unloading of the goods at the port of unloading. In the event of nonconformity, the Seller shall promptly repair or replace such goods or supply the quantity that is deficient. In the event that Buyer does not make such claim within the above-mentioned time-limit, the Buyer shall forfeit its right to make a claim with respect to the quantity deficiency or the apparent quality defect. (2) The Seller shall reply to the Buyer’s claim not later than 7 days after receipt of the inspection certificate issued by the inspection organization provide in Clause 14,2 to this Contract and the claims shall be regarded as having accepted, if the Seller fails to reply within the above-mentioned time-limit. 18.Termination: Except as provided elsewhere, this Contract may be terminated in either of the following case: (1) Through mutual written agreement by both parties; (2) If the other party fails to perform its obligations within the time-limit agreed upon in this Contract within 7 days following the receipt of the notice thereof from the non-breaching party. In such case the non-breaching party shall give a written notice to the other party to terminate this Contract. 19. Notice: Any notice to be given hereunder shall be written or shall be hand-delivered, transmitted by facsimile or telexed or sent by express airmail, and shall be deemed given when so hand-delivered, or if transmitted by facsimile or telex so transmitted, or if sent by mail when received, to the parties at the address specified at the preface to this Contract: ABC Corporation, China: Address: No. , St. Shanghai, China Telex: Fax: Postcode: XYZ Corporation, U. S. A. Address: No. , St., New York, N. Y. U. S. A. Telex: Fax: Postcode: 20. Incoterms: Unless otherwise stipulated in this Contract, the terms and conditions of this Contract shall be interpreted in accordance with the International Rules for the Interpretation of Trade Terms (INCOTERMS 2000) provided by International Chamber of Commerce. 21. Arbitration: All disputes arising from the performance of this Contract should be settled through friendly negotiation. Should no settlement be reached through negotiation, the case shall be submitted for arbitration in the Country where the defendant resides. If the arbitration takes place in China, the case shall be submitted to the Foreign Trade Arbitration Commission of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Shanghai and the arbitration rules of this Commission shall be applied. If the arbitration takes place in the USA, the case shall be submitted to the Foreign Trade Arbitration Commission of Council for the Promotion of International Trade NY and the arbitration rules of this arbitration organization shall be applied. The award of the arbitration shall be final and binding upon both parties. The arbitration fee shall be by the losing party unless otherwise awarded by the arbitration organization. 最后最后最后最后,,,,合同的结尾合同的结尾合同的结尾合同的结尾(Final Clauses) 合同的结尾(Final Clauses), 也称合同最后条款, 写在合同的结尾部分。结尾条款主要应明确的内容有:合同使用的文字及其效力 (Languages in which the contract is to be written and its validity)。除了明确使用的文字及效力外, 有时还应订立对合同进行修改或补充的内容,并明确在合同的结尾(Final Clauses)部分规定附件为本合同不可分割的组成部分。 根据《中人民共和国合同法》第32条规定:“当事人采用合同书形式订立合同的, 自双方当事人签字或者盖章时合同成立”(If the parties enter into a contract in written form, the contract shall go into effect when the parties sign or stamp it)。国际商务合同的成立一般是以签字为成立要件而不是以盖章为成立要件的。所以,在合同的结尾部分还应明确规定:合同在双方授权代表签字后正式生效。 [例4] 1.本合同正文一式两份,分别以中文和英文书写,两种文本具有同等效力。若对其解释产生异议,则以中文本为准。 2.本合同的任何修改和补充,只有在双方授权的代表在书面文件上签字后才能生效,并成为本合同不可分割的组成部分。 3.本合同将在双方授权代表签字后正式生效。 1.This Contract is made out in two originals, each copy written in Chinese and English languages, both texts being equally valid. In case of any divergence of interpretation, the Chinese text shall prevail. 2.The annexes as listed in Articles 19 to this Contract shall form an integral of this Contract. Any amendment and/or supplement to this contract shall be valid only after the authorized representatives of both parties have signed written documents (s), forming integral part(s) of this Contract. 3.This Contract shall come into force after the signatures by the authorized representatives of both parties.
三、商务合同语篇的文体特点
四、商务合同的翻译要点
翻译商务合同应当遵循准确严谨、规范通顺的原则。涉外商务合同在术语、条款、篇章结构、类型等方面的专业性越来越强。内容日趋完备精确,这要求我们在翻译商务合同时必须把准确严谨作为合同翻译的首要原则来遵守。
1. 遵循准确严谨(faithfulness and accuracy)的翻译原则 关于“准确严谨”,不仅仅是翻译合同文件的原则问题,还是一个翻译作风问题,它要求译者在翻译文件时严于律己,具有一丝不苟的认真精神和实事求是的科学态度。“准确严谨”的合同译文应具备以下两个要素。 (1)词语准确 (accuracy) 对合同文件中的一些主要词语要准确无误的翻译。 例如:在当前的国际货物买卖合同中,当事人可以通过信件、数据电文等形式达成协议,这类合同的成立,一般要签订一份“确认书”。在“确认书”中首先规定一条“兹经买卖双方同意按下列条款成交”,翻译为:The undersigned Sellers and Buyers have agree to close the following transactions according to the terms and conditions stipulated below.这个译文中的“条款”一词应译成the terms and conditions,短语中的conditions不能漏掉,因为一个合同条款的达成经常包含着若干条件。 再如,合同文件中经常出现的一个条款“承担法律和经济上的责任”,一般都译为“to bear all legal and economic responsibilities arising there from.”这个条款的译文应该是“没有问题”的,但请注意:“合同是双方当事人为了一定的经济目的所签订的协议。”合同中的“承担法律责任”应改译为financial responsibility 较妥,该条后面的分词短语arising there from 最好也改用含情态动词的定语从句which may arise,这样使人觉得承担上述责任是有条件的,是一种“或然性”而不是“必然性”。 (2)译文完整(completeness) 合同文件的翻译一定要保持译文的完整性,决不能只求保持原文与译文在词量上的对等。对一份合同或协议的译者来讲,只求保持原文与译文在词量上的对等,不注意译文的完整性,是对原文的不忠实,是一种失职的表现。同时,又要力戒在翻译中碰到难点,不去深入研究,而是回避矛盾只求“译完”的行为。 例1:如果上述专有技术和技术资料中的部分或全部被出让方或第三方公布,受让方对公开部分则不再承担保密义务。 原译文:In case part of all know-how of the above mentioned technical contents have been published by Licensor or any third party, the licensee shall no longer be responsible for keeping the opened parts secret. 这一条款中“保密”应译成keep secret and confidential译文中漏掉一个confidential显得不很严谨:另外,在In case part of all know-how of the above mentioned technical contents have been published by Licensor or any third party之后要增译一句Licensee obtain evidence of such publication。这样才使得这一条款完整,因为一方不承担保密义务必须有理由,对方坚持要求时,必须出示足够的证据。 例2:从4月1日起到10月20日止这一期间内交货,但以买方信用证在3月20日前到达卖方为限。 原译文:Shipment during the period beginning on April 1 and ending on Oct. 20 subject to Buyer’s Letter of Credit reaching Seller before Mar. 20. 以上条款中交货期间应包括4月1日和10月20日这两天,所以,应补译both date inclusive; 另外,买方信用证到达日期也包括三月20日这一天,因此,Mar. 20之前的介词除用before外还应增加on, 译成subject to Buyer’s Letter of Credit reaching Seller on and before Mar. 20。句中的subject to在这里指“以……为准”,“以……为有效”,(例如:This offer is subject to our final confirmation. 本报价以我方最后确认为准)。
2. 遵循规范通顺(expressiveness and smoothness)的翻译原则 国际商务合同翻译的第二个标准是“规范通顺”。所谓规范通顺,就是要把理解了的东西,用规范通顺的、合乎合同语言要求的文字表达出来。 例如:乙方保证是本合同规定提供的一切专有技术和技术资料的合法所有者,并有权向甲方转让。如果发生第三方指控侵权,由乙方负责与第三方交涉,并承担法律上和经济上的全部责任。 原译文:Party B guarantees that he is the legitimate owner of the know-how and technical documentation supplied to Party A in accordance with the contract and that he has the right to transfer them to Party A. If the third party accuses party B of infringement, Party B shall take up the matter with the third party and bear all legal and economic responsibilities arising therefrom. 分析:一、Party B guarantees that he…该句的宾语从句中主语用he显得有些含混,应重复Party B。
二、supplied to Party A应在分词supplied后加译by Party B,使全句完整明晰。
三、in accordance with the contract,这句原文的含义是指“按合同中规定的条款”,所以应改成in accordance with stipulations of the contract 才能体现出与原文的含义的一致性;he has the right to transfer them to Party A这句译文不大像“行话”。此外,句中的两个代词也应换成名词,因为在英文合同文件中,出现过的名词尽量不用代词代替,以免产生误解。he has the right to transfer应译为Party B is lawfully in a position to transfer, 这样更能强调乙方对技术和资料占有的绝对合法性。
四、if the third party accuses party B of infringement这个句子明显有两处错误;(1) the third party 给人一种甲乙双方似乎都已知道“第三方”是谁的印象,而实际并非如此,所以应改为any/a third party; (2) to accuse sb of sth 一般是指控诉某人触犯刑律,而这句中的“指控”仅指一般的民事侵权,故应改成 to bring a charge of infringement.
五、party B shall take up the matter with the third party,此译文中的take up sth. with sb.是指“口头或书面向某人提出某事”没有能确切地译出原文中,由乙方负责与第三方交涉本意,故应改成Party B shall be responsible for dealing with the third party. 六、bear all legal and economic responsibilities arising therefrom,“全部责任”指的是“由于上述”原因而发生的乙方应承担的责任,所以“全部”应选用full而不用all。另外,“承担由此引起的法律和经济责任”应译为bear the legal and financial responsibilities which may arise therefrom. 经审校改译为: Party B guarantees that Party B is the legitimate owner of the know-how and technical documentation supplied by Party B to Party A in accordance with the stipulations of the Contract, and that Party B is lawfully in a position to transfer the above-mentioned know-how and technical documentation to Party A. If any/a third party brings a charge of infringement, Party B shall be responsible for dealing with the third party and bear the full legal and financial responsibilities with may arise therefrom. 常用词语常用词语常用词语常用词语((((Useful Words and Phrases)))) terms of payment 支付条款 amount of payment 支付金额 instrument of payment 支付工具 time of payment 支付时间 place of payment 支付地点 method of payment 支付方式 pre-emptive right 优先购买权 penalty n. 违约金 compensation for losses 赔偿损失 suspension of the contract performance 中止履行合同 cancellation of contract 解除合同 mediation n. 调解 conciliation n. 和解 arbitration n. 仲裁 arbitration provision 仲裁协议 lawsuit n. 诉讼 eventuality n. 不可测事件,意外事件 waterproof a. 防水的 War Risk premium 战争险保费 Letter of Credit 信用证 Force Majeure 不可抗力 Claim n. 索赔 Submit sth.(to sb./sth) 提交,呈交 Clause n. 条款 Annex n. 副本
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