金融英语：ContractLaw合同法
If we agree to something in dealing with the other party, the law of contracts is involved. For example, suppose we want to have a new machine built and installed by one of the firms which builds special equipment, the law of contracts forms an unseen backdrop for our attempts to acquire the machine. It is unlikely that we would have occasion to use these legal principles in a court action; but it might happen, and the best way to prevent the occurrence is to observe the following principles when the contract is formed and carried out.Agreement A contract is based upon an agreement--an offer and an acceptance To form the basis of a contract the offer and acceptance must be made with a serious intent to enter into a contractContracts must be entered into voluntarily and intentionally to be valid, This is, neither party is allowed to force the other into agreement; to do so is duress. Neither may one party persuade the other by false statements, for such is the basis of fraud. And it is just as truly fraud if the truth is concealed from one person by other. Of course, we are not all equally susceptible to being defrauded. You and I as engineers would be less likely to be frauded on an engineering contract than would a shoe vendor, for instance. Closely akin to fraud is an agreement which takes advantage of other's mistake. This does not mean a mistake as to value (for example, paying $995 for a refrigerator which you later find could have been purchased for $600). You are stuck with your bad bargain in such a transaction. And it does not mean a mistake in the interpretation of the contract terms — the parties are held to the legal meaning, and if the terms were not understood, they should have been changed. The type of mistake in which the law tends to protect the loser is more like this: Suppose we receive three bids on a machine that was estimated to cost $100,000. Two companies submit proposals at $110,000 and $105,000 and the Gray Machinery Company bids $60,000. Quite apparently someone at the Gray Company goofed; or maybe they have a way of doing the job which is greatly superior to that of their competitors. Either way, it seems reasonable that we should investigate before agreeing. In fact, if we merely accept the proposal, we may find ourselves without legal backing. In court cases on this question there seems to be a substantial tendency to relieve the unfortunate hider, for this question is far from settled law. Of course, there is a contrary argument – Gray should be more careful with offers to enter into contracts.Competency The parties to a contract must be competent to contract. If one of the parties is insane or a minor or is a corporation not chartered to do this kind of work, that party may be able to lawfully avoid performance of the contract. This seems somewhat unlikely in an engineering contract, but then improbable happenings are the stuff of which many law cases are made.Consideration Each contract must involve consideration – that is, what you get for what you give. The law usually does not concern itself with equating the value of the consideration exchanged. It is satisfied if the bargain was made freely and certain other conditions were met. That which is given as consideration must meet four requirements however: 1. It must have value -- that is, it cannot be completely devoid of value to the person receiving it. 2. It must be lawful, courts rarely uphold bargain to violate the law. 3. It must be possible. An agreement to do the impossible is more fantasy than contract. 4. It must be present or future. Past consideration is similar to a sunk cost. It cannot be used to support a present contract.Form The required form of contracts depends upon their nature – that is, certain kinds of contracts must be written to be enforceable. The categories of contracts required to be in writing are set forth in the particular state's statue of frauds. Briefly, contracts of this nature with which we are most likely to be involved are: (1) surety contracts – in the nature of "If he doesn't pay, I will", (2) contracts involving real estate, (3) contracts which cannot be performed in one year -- for example, an agreement to work for another for two years, and (4) certain types of sales contracts. This last type requires a little more explanation. It refers to sales contracts involving a price above five hundred dollars. To be enforceable, such contracts must be in writing, the buyer must take part or all of the goods involved, or the buyer must make part or entire payment. In other words, there are three ways to satisfy the statute of frauds in a sales contract.金融英语：ContractLaw合同法
Mutuality If either person is not bound by the terms of a contract, then neither is the other. Those who write contracts occasionally make the error of writing one in such a way that one party has an opening or a "loophole" while the other seems tightly bound. It is comforting to note that one has a way out if the contract proves unfortunate. However, if the opening is there for one party to escape, the other has a right to use the same opening and there in legal effect no contract.[参考译文]
合 同 法 如果我们在与另一方打交道时同意某项事情，这就要牵涉到合同法。例如，假定我们想引进某个制造专用设备的厂商所制造和安装的一部新机器，合同法便对于我们打算获得该机器一事构成一种无形的干预力量。我们未必真的需要在法庭诉讼中运用这些法律原则；但是这种事也可能发生，因此当合同已经建立和执行时，防止事端的最好方法是遵守下面的各项原则。协 议 合同是建立在供受双方协议的基础上的。要建立一项合同的基础，供受双方必须抱着想要缔结合同的严肃认真的态度． 缔结合同必须自愿，并有意识地使之成为有效的东西。也就是说，任何一方都不得强制另一方达成协议，如果这样做就是胁迫。任何一方都不可以用假话来劝说对方，因为这样做是诈骗伎俩。同时，如果一个人对另一个人隐瞒了真实情况，这也如同真正的诈骗一样。当然，我们并不全都那样易于受骗。比如，我和你们作为工程师，在一项技术合同中很可能会比一个卖鞋小贩少受欺骗。与诈骗行为极其近似的是利用别人的错误来达成一项协议。这不是指估价方向的错误(例如．，为一部电冰箱付了950美元，你后来发现用600美元就可以买到)。在这一交易中你是由于不会还价而被敲了竹杠。这也不是指在解释合同条款方面的错误，因为双方都受法律内容的约束，如果条款不明，自应加以修改。 对这种错误，法律往往会保护吃亏的一方，其典型的事例如：假定我们在一部估价为十万美元的机器上收到三个投标，两家公司投标11万美元和15万5千美元，而格雷公司则投标6万美元。十分明显这是格雷公司有人出了大错，或许是他们拥有一种大大优于他们的竞争者的进行这项工作的方法。不管怎样，看来妥善的做法是我们在同意之前应进行一番调查研究。事实上，如果我们不加思索地接受了投标，我们可能发现自己缺少法律支持。在对这一问题的法庭案例中，开脱这个不幸的投标者似乎成了基本的倾向，因为既定法律并不包含这个问题。当然也有相反的观点，格雷公司理应更加过细地对待签订合同时的出价问题。资 格 合同双方必须是有法定资格签定合同的人。如果其中一方是精神病患者或未成年的人，或是未经特许从事这类业务的团体，则对方可以在法律上使该合同无效。这种情况在工程技术合同中似乎是不大可能发生的事，然而一些难以置信的偶然事件却是构成许多法律案件的要素。报 酬 每个合同都必须包含报酬，即因你所提供的东西而得到什么酬劳。法律一般并不关注所交换的报酬是否等价，只要是自由成交而又合乎其他的一定条件，那就应该满足了。但给予的报酬必须符合以下四点要求： 1、报酬必须有价值。即是说，报酬对获酬的人不能是全无价值的。 2、报酬必须是合法的。法庭很难支持违法的交易。 3、报酬必须是可能的。一项办不到的协议，与其说是合同不如叫它空想。 4、报酬必须是现在的或将来的。过去的报酬与一种“旁置成本”相似，它不能用来支持现在的合同。(注：“旁置成本”或“沉没成本”，是指过去发生的成本，它不受现行决策的影响，因而与现在的成本计算无关。)形 式 合同所需的形式取决于它的性质——也就是说，某些类型的合同必须书写下来以便具有强制性。关于哪类合同需要写成书面文字，在国家特别防诈骗条例中有明文规定。简单来说，我们最可能涉及到的这种性质的合同是：(1)担保合同——具有“如果他不付款，我就…”的性质；(2)有关不动产的合同；(3)不能在一年之内完成的合同——例如一项为他方施工的为期两年的协议；(4)某些类型的销售合同。这最后一类需要稍加说明。它指的是价格超过五百美元的销售合同。为了具有强制性，这类合同必须写成书面文字。买方必须接受部分或全部有关商品，或买方必须作出部分或总的付款。换句话说，在一项销售合同中，有三种方法来确保执行反诈骗条例。相 互 性 如果合同对某一方没有约束力，那么对另一方也就没有约束力了。起草合同的人有时会犯有下述情况的文字差错，即一方有着某项漏洞或“空子”，而另一方却紧紧受着约束。但可以告慰的是，如果合同证实是不妥的，现在有办法来摆脱它。不过，如果该漏洞使一方可以逃避责任，而另一方也有权利用同样的漏洞，那么从法律上来说这个合同无效了。
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