“要式合同”不等于“Formal Contract”

发布时间:2019-08-08 18:05:15


  在中国的合同法中,“要式合同指必须依据法律规定的方式而成立的合同。对于一些重要的交易,法律常常要求当事人必须采取特定的方式订立合同。例如,中外合资经营企业合同,属于应当由国家批准的合同,只有国家批准时,方为合同成立。”(《法律词典》法律出版社)由这个定义可以看出“要式合同”的特征在于必须履行特定的法定手续(例如,经过有关政府部门批准)。与此相对的“非要式合同”则由合同当事人自行签订,而不需要经过国家有关部门的批准和备案。

  而在英美国家里,“A formal contract is a contract where the parties have signed under seal, while an informal contract is one not under seal. In other words, a formal Contract is a contract that must be written in a specific form required by law for it to be enforceable, while an informal Contract is a contract which does not depend upon a particular mode of expression to be valid. ”也就是“Formal Contract”是以书面形式签订的经过签字盖章而形成的“正式合同”,而“Informal Contract”则不要求以书面形式(例如可以是口头形式的)签订的“非正式合同”。

  由此可见,”要式合同”与“Formal Contract”是两个不同的概念,不应该等而视之。

  此外,“要式合同”也不应翻译成“Mandate Contract”。在英语中“A mandate is a contract by which one person designates another person to represent him or her, in other words act on his or her behalf, in legal dealings with a third party.”即“Mandate”是“一方委托另一方以其名义与第三方进行商事活动的”委任合同“。

  鉴于以上理由,笔者认为”要式合同“的恰当英文应该是”Solemnity Contract“,对应的”非要式合同“则为”Non-Solemnity Contract".