There are some specific expressions in English contracts that are not easy to appear in other types of articles. These sentence patterns and phrases appear so rarely in other article types and daily language that when they appear in English contracts, they always give people a strange feeling. In fact, if you are a legal English major or often have the opportunity to come into contact with English contracts, you will find that the number of these specific expressions is not large, but we rarely summarize and summarize them. Now, let’s summarize it, and all legal English professionals are welcome to add to it.

1. In accordance with/pursuant to According to/in accordance with/in accordance with the provisions of...

The contract is the "law" of the parties. The purpose of a contract is to make the transactions under the contract carried out in accordance with legal provisions or agreements to the greatest extent possible, so that the transactions between the two parties become predictable. Therefore, the expression "according to the agreement (stipulations) of..." will often appear in contracts. In the long-term contract translation practice, when the basis needs to be expressed, professional legal professionals tend to use in accordance with or pursuant to.

2. In respect of/ in connection with/ with respect to...

In the translation of English contracts, we often encounter such expressions to express limitations on related things. In general English texts, when expressing or referring to a specific thing, we usually use concerned/regarding/in relation to/relating, etc. If these words are placed in legal texts, they will make people feel more casual, not as solemn and formal as in respect of.

3. Except (for)/ unless unless...; except...

English contracts often stipulate some exceptions. The most common expression is "unless ...otherwise provided/stipulated, otherwise...", the most common collocation here is unless otherwise provided/stipulated, Party A shall not.... For example, except as provided/stipulated in Article XXX, we usually translate it as "except this law "Except for the provisions of Article Show up less often. However, its frequency of occurrence in English contracts is quite high. The meaning of Notwithstanding is not much different from although/though/even if commonly used in ordinary English articles. The most obvious difference is that in legal contracts, notwithstanding is often followed by a noun phrase. For example: Notwithstanding the foregoing, generally translated as "Although the foregoing provisions of this contract stipulate..., but..."

5. Provided that... but (premise) is...

Provided that generally appears after the main clause in legal contracts, indicating a limitation or a condition that exists in the previous main clause. The legal profession usually calls this kind of sentence a "proviso".

6. For the purpose(s) of... In terms of...; in...

This is another phrase that often appears in English contracts. When translators who are familiar with legal English encounter this phrase, their first reaction may be "for the purpose of...". But in fact, in legal contracts, the expression of this phrase is not as simple as we think.

Everyone, please keep your eyes open and take a look at the following sentence: FASIMILE SIGNATURES. The signature on this Agreement of any party that is faxed to the other party, will be deemed an original signature for the purpose of enforcement of this Agreement. How many are there? When people read this sentence, they will instinctively understand for the purpose of as "for the purpose of/for the purpose of..."? Reasonable translation: Faxed signature. The signature of either party on this Agreement sent by facsimile to the other party will be deemed an original signature for the purposes of this Agreement. For the purpose of this Agreement, all costs of arbitration shall be borne by the losing Party unless otherwise stipulated by the arbitration tribunal.

7. Subject to... According to the provisions of...; on the premise of not contradicting...; subject to...

This phrase is generally followed by agreement in legal English. , section, contract and other legal document names or specific clause names in the document. It can usually be translated as "subject to...", "according to the provisions of...", "under the condition that it is consistent with...", "under the condition that it does not conflict with the provisions of...", etc.

8. Without prejudice to... On the premise of not affecting...; without affecting... The function of this English legal phrase is equivalent to without affecting in ordinary English. In the same way as subject to, the phrase without prejudice to is usually followed by a noun referring to a certain legal provision. The restrictive meaning it contains is not as strong as that of subject to. Take a look at the following example sentence: Without prejudice to section 24, the following shall be treated as properly executed... Reference translation: Without prejudice to section 24, the following agreement shall be deemed to be formally signed...

9. Where... if...; where...;... of...

In ordinary English, where is usually used to introduce adverbial clauses of place or attributive clauses, but in law In English it is often used to introduce conditional adverbial clauses. Its meaning is equivalent to in the case, that is, "wherever...", "such as...".

Legal contract translation is like a vast ocean. Only by holding a meticulous attitude during the translation process, diligently querying, diligently accumulating, and being able to continuously digest and absorb, can we roam freely and have a clear understanding of the world. Confidence in bringing customers the highest quality translation works.

Editor's note: The above content was edited and edited by Yirui Translation from "Translation and Drafting of English Contracts", author: Wang Xiangguo;