Unit 1 - Language of Contract Law

Dr. Miguel A. Campos
Legal English
Unit 1 – The Language of Contract Law
UNIT 1: THE LANGUAGE OF CONTRACT LAW
I. WHAT IS A CONTRACT?
A. Promise, offer and consideration.
Read pages 97-100 of El inglés jurídico (Alcaraz 2003). Then, do the following
exercises:
A.1. Translate the italicized terms in the following paragraphs:
1. Los contratos son acuerdos vinculantes (__________), en los que las
partes (__________) pueden ser personas físicas (_________ ________) o
jurídicas (____________ ____________ _________), que pretenden crear
una relación jurídica (_________ __________), surgida de una oferta
(_________) y una aceptación (__________). En ellos ha de mediar una
contraprestación (_____________), que no se considera tal si no es a título
oneroso (___________).
2. Los tipos de contratos más habituales son el contrato de compraventa
(________ _________), el contrato de arrendamiento
(__________agreement), el contrato de trabajo (___________
____________) y el contrato de servicios (___________ ____ _______)
3. Los contratos se extinguen (_______ _________), entre otros motivos,
por cumplimiento (__________), por acuerdo de las partes, por novación
(__________) o por incumplimiento de contrato (_____________ ___
_________). En este último caso, se puede interponer una demanda (_____
__ _______), a fin de obtener una solución o remedio jurídico
(__________), que puede ser, por ejemplo, la resolución (_________), la
indemnización por daños y perjuicios (_________) y el cumplimiento
específico por sentencia (______________ __________).
A.2. Say whether the following statements are true or false.Be prepared to
justify your answer.
a) Algunos contratos, como el de compraventa de bienes inmuebles (real
property), sólo son válidos si se formalizan por escrito (in writing).
b) Uno de los tipos más habituales de contrato en Inglaterra es la donación
(gift).
c) A veces los contratos contienen cláusulas que especifican la cantidad que
se ha de abonar en caso de incumplimientos (breaches).
d) La novación (novation) es una solución judicial (remedy) impuesta en
caso de incumplimiento de contrato (breach of contract).
B. Read the following text on the validity of contracts.
For a contract to be valid, it must meet the following criteria:
Mutual agreement - (see main article offer and acceptance): There must be an express or
implied agreement. The essential requirement is that there be evidence that the parties had
each from an objective perspective engaged in conduct manifesting their assent, and a
contract will be formed when the parties have met such a requirement. (Notice that the
objective manifestation requirement means that one need not actually have assented so long
as a reasonable person would believe that assent had been granted.) For a contract based on
offer and acceptance to be enforced, the terms must be capable of determination in a way that
it is clear that the parties' assent was given to the same terms. The terms, like the
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Dr. Miguel A. Campos
Legal English
Unit 1 – The Language of Contract Law
manifestation of assent itself, are determined objectively.
Consideration: There must be consideration (see also consideration under English law) given
by all the parties, meaning that every party is conferring a benefit on the other party or
himself sustaining a recognizable detriment, such as a reduction of the party's alternative
courses of action where the party would otherwise be free to act with respect to the subject
matter without any limitation. Consideration need not be adequate, e.g. agreeing to buy a car
for a penny may constitute a binding contract. (q.v. Chappell & Co Ltd v Nestle Co Ltd [1959]
2 All ER 701. (UK common law))
Competent, Adult (Sui Juris) Parties: Both parties must have the capacity to understand
the terms of the contract they are entering into, and the consequences of the promises they
make. For example, animals, minor children, and mentally disabled individuals do not have the
capacity to form a contract, and any contracts with them will be considered void or voidable.
Although corporations are technically legal fictions, they are considered persons under the law,
and thus fit to engage in contracts.
For adults, most jurisdictions have statutes declaring that the capacity of parties to a
contract is presumed, so that one resisting enforcement of a contract on grounds that a party
lacked the capacity to be bound bears the burden of persuasion on the issue of capacity.
Proper Subject Matter: The contract must have a lawful purpose. A contract to commit
murder in exchange for money will not be enforced by the courts. Such contracts are void ab
initio.
Mutual Right to Remedy: Both parties must have an equal right to remedy upon breach of
the terms by the other party
Mutual Obligation to Perform: Both parties must have some obligation to fulfill to the other.
This can be distinct from consideration, which may be an initial inducement into the contract.
Intention to create legal relationship: There is a strict presumption for commercial
agreements to be legally bound. Domestic and social agreements are usually unenforceable.
(adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract)
Now, answer the following questions
Is it possible to enforce a contract to perform an illegal activity?
Is a corporation a person, legally speaking?
If a contract does not offer one of the parties the right to seek help from the courts,
the contract is not valid. Why is that?
Using the Internet, find out…
a) the difference between “damages” and “specific performance”, as remedies
for breach of contract
b) what happened in Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company, and why this was
a landmark case in contract law
C. Match the definitions to the terms provided:
binding, consideration, gift, party, void
1. anything given, promised or forborne by a party, in exchange for an
undertaking or promise of the other: _________________.
2. obligatory, imposing an obligation upon someone: __________.
3. gratuituous transfer or grant of property: _________.
4. invalid, not binding: __________.
5. person(s) forming one side in an agreement: _________.
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Dr. Miguel A. Campos
Legal English
Unit 1 – The Language of Contract Law
D. Choose one of the following collocations. Only one answer is correct in
each case.
1. This agreement shall be _________ upon the parties, their successors, assigns
and personal representatives.
a) obligatory b) forceful c) unavoidable d) binding
2. The property is sold in "as is" ______________.
a) condition b) state c) situation d) status
3. The person signing this Agreement (_______, the “Customer”)….
a) from now on b) from here on c) hereafter d) hereinafter
4. The Agreement describes the terms and _________ applicable to….
a) requirements b) requisites c) conditions d) preconditions
5. The Customer, for good and _________ consideration, hereby agrees to…
a) valid b) priced c) valued d) valuable
6. An amount, the __________ of which is hereby acknowledged.
a) receipt b) reception c) admission d) admittance
7. The property shall be returned in its present condition, __________ wear and
tear excepted.
a) understandable b) admissible c) reasonable d) acceptable
8. This agreement shall inure to the ________ of the parties, their successors,
assigns and personal representatives.
a) benefit b) profit c) advantage d) improvement
9. Contractor may at its ________ engage subcontractors to perform work
hereunder
a) discretion b) power c) possibility d) discretionality
10. Seller, to the full ______ permitted by law, disclaims any implicit warranties.
a) scope
b) reach c) extent d) capacity
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Dr. Miguel A. Campos
Legal English
Unit 1 – The Language of Contract Law
II. THE SALE/PURCHASE CONTRACT.
A. Read pages 238-243 of El inglés jurídico norteamericano on salepurchase contracts.
B. Translate the following fragments from the United Nations Convention
on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
Article 45.
(1) If the seller fails to perform any of his obligations under the contract or
this Convention, the buyer may:
(a) exercise the rights provided in articles 46 to 52;
(b) claim damages as provided in articles 74 to 77.
(2) The buyer is not deprived of any right he may have to claim damages by
exercising his right to other remedies.
(3) No period of grace may be granted to the seller by a court or arbitral
tribunal when the buyer resorts to a remedy for breach of contract.
Article 46.
(1) The buyer may require performance by the seller of his obligations
unless the buyer has resorted to a remedy which is inconsistent with this
requirement.
(2) If the goods do not conform with the contract, the buyer may require
delivery of substitute goods only if the lack of conformity constitutes a
fundamental breach of contract and a request for substitute goods is made
either in conjunction with notice under article 39 or within a reasonable time
thereafter.
The complete text of the Convention can be downloaded from:
http://www.uncitral.org/pdf/english/texts/sales/cisg/CISG.pdf
The Spanish version is available at:
http://www.uncitral.org/pdf/spanish/texts/sales/cisg/CISG-s.pdf
Now, compare your translation with the “official” one, and decide whether
the differences are merely stylistic ones (i.e. yours would also be an
acceptable version) or not.
C. Translate the following sentences into English. If you find the task too
difficult, on the last page of this lesson there is some help, but TRY to do it
first without looking.
1. Entre otras soluciones, la Ley dispone que el vendedor puede pedir una
indemnización de los daños y perjuicios si el comprador incumple sus obligaciones.
2. En casos de incumplimiento de contrato, el tribunal de arbitraje no concederá a
la parte compradora un periodo de gracia.
D. Complete the text, which has been adapted from Black’s Dictionary of
Law, using the words and expressions provided.
accepted, agreement, breach, consideration, contractual liability, damages,
express, implied, intention, obligations, offer, reward, signed, stated, sue, terms,
under seal, verbally, voided, writing
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Dr. Miguel A. Campos
Legal English
Unit 1 – The Language of Contract Law
A contract can be defined as “an ____________ between two or more parties to
create legal _____________ between them”. Some contracts are made
“_________”, or in other words, they are __________ and sealed (stamped) by the
parties involved. Most contracts are made __________ or in ________. The
essential elements of a contract are: (a) that an _______ made by one party
should be _________ by the other; (b) ___________ (the price in money, goods or
some other ____________, paid by one party in exchange for another party
agreeing to do something; (c) the __________ to create legal relations. The
__________ of a contract may be __________ (clearly stated) or
______________ (not clearly __________ in the contract, but generally
understood). A __________ of contract by one party of their _________ entitles
the other party to ________ for ___________ or, in some cases, to seek specific
performance. In such circumstances, the contract may be _________ (in other
words, it becomes invalid).
III. THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT.
A. Read pages 126-128, up to “y la aportación al plan de pensiones
(pension scheme)”, from El inglés jurídico, and pages 270-278 of El ingles
jurídico norteamericano (Ariel), regarding the macrostructure of
employment contracts in the United States.
.
A.1. Translate into English the underlined words and expressions in the
following fragments:
a) Cuando surgen (________) disputas laborales (_________ ___________),
suelen ser los Tribunales de lo Social (_______________ _________) los
que resuelven (_________) la demanda (_______/ _________). Sin
embargo, las partes (__________) deben tratar previamente de resolverlas
mediante la conciliación (______________).
b) Las disputas muchas veces son resultado de la extinción (____________) de
los contratos, que debe la empresa (__________) notificar (_______
_________) con el tiempo suficiente, tanto si se trata de despidos
(_________) como de regulaciones de empleo (_____________). En estos
últimos casos, los empleados normalmente tienen derecho a una
indemnización por despido (_____________ ___________).
c) Cuando los tribunales estiman (___________) que se ha producido un
despido improcedente (____________ _________), pueden dictar
(________) una de las siguientes medidas: la readmisión (___________), la
recolocación o reincorporación (____________) en nuevas condiciones
(____ __________ ________), o la indemnización (_________).
B. Compare the following clauses of employment contracts in Spain and in
the United States:
a)
2. Term of Employment. Subject
to the provisions for termination set
forth below this agreement will
begin on __________, 20____,
unless sooner terminated.
CUARTA: La duración del presente
contrato será INDEFINIDA, iniciándose
la relación laboral en fecha .... y se
establece un periodo de prueba de....
SEXTA: El/la trabajador/a percibirá una
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Dr. Miguel A. Campos
Legal English
Unit 1 – The Language of Contract Law
3. Salary. The Company shall pay
Employee a salary of $_______ per
year, for the services of the
Employee, payable at regular payroll
periods.
4. Duties and Position. The
Company hires the Employee in the
capacity of
________________________. the
Employee's duties may be
reasonably modified at the
Company's discretion from time to
time.
retribución total de ........ euros brutos,
que se distribuirán en los siguientes
conceptos salariales:
PRIMERA: El/la trabajador/a prestará
sus servicios como ..... incluido en el
grupo profesional / categoría / nivel
profesional de....
SÉPTIMA: La duración de las
vacaciones anuales será de ...
8. Vacation. The Employee shall be
entitled to a yearly vacation of
_____ weeks at full pay.
Y para que conste, se extiende este
contrato por triplicado ejemplar en el
lugar y fecha a continuación indicados,
firmando las partes interesadas.
Signed this_____ day of _ 20____.
En .... a ..... de ....... de 20...
Find suitable equivalents for the following Spanish expressions and
formulae:
1. iniciándose la relación laboral en fecha:
2. El trabajador percibirá una retribución total de:
3. El/la trabajador/a prestará sus servicios como:
4. La duración de las vacaciones anuales será de...:
C. Translate the following fragments from a training contract from the Law
Society (http://www.lawsociety.org.uk)
THIS CONTRACT is made on ..... BETWEEN “X” .........................................
[the training establishment] and
........................................................................ [the trainee solicitor].
1. The purpose of this contract is to set out the principal duties and responsibilities
of the training establishment and the trainee solicitor in accordance with the
Training Regulations 1990 and “Training trainee solicitors: The Law Society
requirements”.
6. This contract begins on ............................................... and continues for two
years, subject to the provisions for earlier termination.
Salary
7. [The training establishment] will: (a) pay the trainee solicitor a yearly salary of
not less than £............ payable by equal monthly instalments; (b) ensure that the
Trainee Solicitor’s salary is never less than the minimum prescribed for trainee
solicitors in the local law society area where the trainee solicitor is based.
9. The trainee solicitor is employed by [the training establishment] under the terms
and conditions of employment which have been supplied but if there is any conflict
between those terms and this contract then the terms of this contract prevail.
Law Society Requirements
13. [The training establishment] will:
a) i) permit the trainee solicitor to have paid leave to attend courses and
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Dr. Miguel A. Campos
Legal English
Unit 1 – The Language of Contract Law
interviews as required by the Law Society; ii) pay all the fees and reasonable
expenses in connection with such courses and interviews.
b) inform the trainee solicitor of any change: (i) in the Law Society’s
requirements relating to this training contract; (ii) of the training principal;
c) permit the trainee solicitor to have 20 working days paid holiday in each
year of employment in addition to public holidays;
d) complete a certificate of training at the end of this contract.
An example in Spanish of a training contract (contrato en prácticas) may be
obtained from:
http://www.inem.es/ciudadano/empleo/contratacion/impresos/pe-176.pdf
Can you observe great differences between the English and the Spanish model?
What do you think they may be attributed to?
D. Translate the following sentences into English. If you find the task too
difficult, on the last page of this lesson there is some help, but TRY to do it
first without looking.
1. Sin perjuicio de las disposiciones que figuran a continuación, la retribución del
abogado en prácticas no podrá ser inferior al mínimo fijado para los abogados en
prácticas.
2. Caso de producirse discrepancia entre los términos de este documento y la
legislación en vigor, se estará a lo previsto en la legislación.
3. La duración de las vacaciones anuales del abogado en prácticas será de 20 días
laborables, además de los días festivos oficiales.
IV.Miscellaneous exercises
A. Fill in the definition of “negligence" given in the Unfair Contract Terms
Act of 1977 (©Crown Copyright; www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk):
performance, purposes, terms
For the ________ of this Part of this Act, 'negligence' means the breach of any
obligation, arising from the express or implied _______ of a contract, to take
reasonable care or exercise reasonable skill in the _________ of the contract.
B. Using the terms provided, fill in the gaps in the following excerpts from
the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of
Goods.
acceptance, bound, contract, offer, offeror, offeree
A proposal for concluding a(n) __________ addressed to one or more
specific persons constitutes a(n) ________ if it is sufficiently definite and
indicates the intention of the _________ to be _______ in case of ________
[...] An offer becomes effective when it reaches the _______
contracts, judgement, law, party, performance, provisions, specific
performance
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Dr. Miguel A. Campos
Legal English
Unit 1 – The Language of Contract Law
If, in accordance with the ___________ of this Convention, one ______ is
entitled to require ________ of any obligation by the other party, a court is
not bound to enter a ________ for ____________ unless the court would do
so under its own _____ in respect of similar __________ of sale not
governed by this Convention.
Bibliography
Online resources:
http://www.duhaime.org/contract/default.aspx
(sobre derecho contractual en general, centrado en Canadá)
http://ceds.vu.edu.au/buslaw/glossary.htm
(glosario sobre derecho comercial)
http://www.ilrg.com/forms/
(formularios contractuales estadounidenses de todos los tipos)
On paper:
Alcaraz Varó, E., Campos Pardillos, M.A. y Miguélez, C. (2003): “El lenguaje de los
contratos (I). El contrato de compraventa. Las marcas”, “El lenguaje de los
contratos de arrendamiento y de trabajo” y “El lenguaje del comercio” en El
inglés jurídico norteamericano. Barcelona: Ariel.
Campos Pardillos, Miguel Ángel (2003): "La traducción de los contratos y el papel
del traductor en el salto tipológico ¿qué traducimos, cómo y para qué?",
págs. 427-440 en Ortega Arjonilla, Emilio (ed.): Panorama actual de la
investigación en traducción e interpretación. Granada: Atrio.
Corpas Pastor, Gloria (2003): "TURICOR: compilación de un corpus de contratos
turísticos alemán, español, inglés, italiano para la generación textual
multilingüe y la traducción jurídica”, págs. 373-384 (Vol. 2) en Ortega
Arjonilla, Emilio (ed.) 2003. Panorama actual de la investigación en
traducción e interpretación. Granada: Atrio.
Paneque Arana, Silvia (1996): "Propuesta de traducción de un contrato en inglés al
español", pp. 259-288 en San Ginés Aguilar, Pedro & Ortega Arjonilla, Emilio
(eds.) Introducción a la traducción jurídica y jurada (inglés-español).
Granada: Comares.
Peñarroja i Fa, J. y Guidini, C.P. (1996): "Casos prácticos de traducción jurada
(inglés-español) de documentos jurídicos (judiciales y contractuales)", págs.
203-244 en San Ginés Aguilar, Pedro & Ortega Arjonilla, Emilio (eds.),
Introducción a la traducción jurídica y jurada (inglés-español). Granada:
Comares.
Translation aids (section II, exercise C)
1.Amongst other __________, the Act _______ that the seller may _________ damages if
the _________ does not / fails to ___________ his _________.
2. _______ there has been a __________ of _________, the arbitral _________ may not
_______ the buyer a _________ of grace.
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Dr. Miguel A. Campos
Legal English
Unit 1 – The Language of Contract Law
Translation aids (section III, exercise D)
1._______ to the __________ below, the Trainee Solicitor’s ________ shall never be
_______ than the minimum __________ for Trainee Solicitors.
2. If there is any __________ between the terms _________ and the _______ in ______,
the law shall _______.
3. The Trainee Solicitor will have 20 _______ days’ paid _______ in _______ to
_______ holidays.
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