合同解释原理

1、Project Management if the offeree need only promise to perform, the contract is bilateral. A unilateral contract is a promise for an act; if the offeree can accept only by complete performance, the contract is unilateral. A unilateral contracts offer becomes irrevocable once substantial performance

2、has been completed,双边与单边合同,每一个合同至少涉及到两个合同方: 提供方和接受方 。提供方承诺做或者不做某个（些）事情。采用单边合同还是双边合同取决于接受方为了接受必须做什么 双边合同是对一个承诺的承诺；如果接受方只需要承诺履行，合同则为双边合同。 单边合同是对一个行为的承诺；如果接受方只有通过完全履行才能接受，合同则为单边合同。在单边合同中，一旦关键部分已经履行， 提供则不能召回,Expressed vs. Implied Contracts,An express contract is one in which the terms are expressed in w

3、ords, oral or written, A contract that is implied from the conduct of the parties is an iniplied-in-fact contract, or simply an implied contract. The parties conduct reveals that they intended to form a contract and creates and defines its terms. To establish an implied-in-fact contract: (1) the pla

4、intiff must have furnished some service or property; (2) the plaintiff must have expected to be paid and the defendant knew or should have known that payment was expected; and (3) the defendant had a chance to reject the service or property and did not,明确的与隐含的合同,一个明确的合同中，条款以语言的形式（口头或书面）明确表述，隐含于合同方的履

5、行准则之外的合同是一种隐含于事实的合同， 或简称为隐含合同。合同方履行准则不但表明合同各方有意达成合同，而且创建并定义合同条款。 建立一个隐含于事实的合同：(1) 原告必须已经完成一些服务或产品； (2)原告必须已经期望得到支付，被告已经知道或应该已经知道原告期望得到支付； (3) 被告已经有机会拒绝服务或产品但是没有拒绝,Formal vs. Informal Contracts,Formal contracts require a special form or method of formation to be enforceable. Formal contracts include

6、contracts under seal, which are writings with a special sea attached. All other contracts are informal contracts, or simple contracts. For these, no special form is required (except for certain types; of contracts that must be in writing,正式与非正式合同,正式合同需要一种特殊的合同形式或形成合同的方法以使合同生效。正式合同包括有印章的合同，即付有特殊印章的书面

7、文字。 所有其他合同都是非正式合同或简单合同。对于这些合同，不需要特殊的合同形式(除了一些必须以书面形式存在的合同,Executed vs. Executory Contracts,Contracts are also classified according to their stage of performance. A contract that has been performed is an executed contract. A contract that has riot been performed is an executory contract. If one party

8、 has fully performed but the other has not, the contract is said to be executed on the one side and executory on the other, and it is classified as executory,已执行 与待执行 合同,合同也可以按照它们履行的阶段来分类。已经执行的合同称为已执行合同。还未执行的合同称为待执行合同。 http:/ 如果合同一方已经履行而另一方还未履行，可以说该合同一方已经执行另一方还未执行，该合同归类为待执行,VALID, VOID, VOIDABLE, AN

9、D UNENFORCEABLE CONTRACTS,A valid contract results when all of the elements necessary to contract formation exist-when th parties agree, through an offer and an acceptance, to form a contract; the contract is supported by consideration; the contract is for a legal purpose; and the parties had legal

10、capacity to contract, A contract that is void is no contract. A void contract gives rise to no legal obligation on the part d any party. An illegal contract is, for example, a void contract, A voidable contract is a valid contract in which one or both of the parties has the option of avoiding his or

11、 her legal obligation. If the contract is avoided, both parties are released. If it is ratified, both parties must perform An unenforceable contract is a valid contract that cannot be enforced due to certain defenses. For example, a valid contract barred by a statute of limitations is an unenforceab

12、le contract,有效的，无效的，可转为无效的和不能生效的合同,当所有形成合同的必要因素已经存在时当所有合同方通过提供和接受达成一致同意签定合同；合同具有报酬的支持；合同具有合法的目的；合同各方具有签定合同的法律能力一个有效的合同即可形成。 一个无效的合同不能称为合同。一个无效的合同对合同任何一方都无法律义务的约束。例如，一个非法的合同即是一个无效的合同。 一个可转为无效的合同是一个有效的合同，在合同中，合同一方或双方可以选择避免他或她的法律义务。如果合同转为无效，合同双方均不再受合同条款的约束。如果合同获得批准，合同双方均应履行合同。 一个不能生效的合同是一个有效的合同，由于某些原因该

13、合同不能生效。例如，一个受某些因素限制的有效合同即是一个不能生效的合同,Excuses for non-performance of a Contract,Misrepresentation (false statement or assertion of fact) Innocent - didnt know they were lying Fraudulant - knowingly Duress - induced by means of intimidation (coercion) Undue Influence - one party to a contract dominates

14、 the free will of the other party,不履行合同的原因,错误的描述（对事实的不真实陈述或声称） 无错不知道对方在欺骗 有错知道对方在欺骗 强迫由于受到威胁、恐吓等。 不适当的影响合同一方的意愿受到另一方的控制,Mistakes,Often happens with submission of bids Rectification of a “common mistake” (secretarial or recording in nature) Unilateral Mistake - made by 1 party example,错误,经常在投递投标书时发生。

15、 批准 普通错误（打印或记录错误） 单边错误合同一方所犯的错误 示例,Unilateral Mistake,Suppose you are bidding on a construction contract and make an incorrect transfer from a summary sheet such that your bid (submitted under seal for 60 days) is $70,000 lower than you intended. After 30 days, you discover your mistake and attempt

16、to withdraw the bid. The client understands that you made a mistake but after 50 days accepts your bid. Should you be required to honor the bid,单边错误,假设您在投标一个建筑合同，但是您依据总结单做了一个不正确的转述 ，以至于您的投标（已经投递并付有印章60天有效）比您原先所期望的低了$70,000 。 30天后，您发现了自己的错误并试图撤回投标。客户明白您犯了错误但是50天后接受了您的投标。 您是否必须履行您的投标,Contract Interpre

17、tation Principles,THE PLAIN MEANING RULE (ALSO KNOWN AS PAROL EVIDENCE RULE) - When a contract is in writing that is not subject to conflicting meanings, a court will enforce the writing according to its plain meaning. Under this plain meaning rule, the meaning of the words must be determined from t

18、he face of the instrument-a court cannot consider evidence extrinsic to the document,合同解释原理,字面意义原理 (亦称为PAROL 证据原理) - 当一个合同是以书面形式存在而且不存在意思矛盾时，法庭将依据合同的字面意义使合同生效。 依据此字面意义原理, 合同中词语的意思必须由其字面意义来决定法庭不能考虑此合同之外的证据,Contract Interpretation Principles,Reasonable Meanings and Implied terms It is impossible to wr

19、ite everything down Contra Proferentum Interpretation of unclear statements will go against the party responsible for writing them,合同解释原理,合理的意思和隐含的条款 不可能把每一项东西都写下来。 相反Proferentum 对不清楚陈述的解释将参照合同的写作方对合同条款的解释,Ambiguities,When the writing is ambiguous, a court will interpret the language to give effect

20、to the parties intent as expressed in their contract. A court will not make or remake a contract nor interpret the language according to what the parties claim their intent was when they made it. In interpreting ambiguities, the following rules are generally applied,模糊条款,当书面语言意义模糊时，法庭将对合同中的语言进行解释以便是

21、合同方在合同中的意愿得以生效。法庭将既不会签订或重新签订合同也不会按照合同方在签订合同时所声称的意愿解释合同中的语言。在解释模糊条款时，通常情况下将采用以下原则,Ambiguities,1. A reasonable, lawful, and effective meaning will be given to all of a contracts terms. 2. A contract will be interpreted as a whole; individual clauses will be considered subordinate to the contracts gene

22、ral intent. Ali writings that are part of the same transaction will be interpreted together, although terms that were negotiated separately will be given greater consideration than standardized terms and terms that were not negotiated separately,模糊条款,1. 合同中所有的条款都必须具有合理的、合法的、有效的意义。 2. 一个合同必须作为一个整体来解释

23、；单个条款必须作为合同整体意义的一部分来考虑。同一条款的所有书面部分都必须放在一起来解释；但是，与标准化的条款和非分开单独谈判的条款相比 ，分开单独谈判的条款将作为重点来考虑,Ambiguities,3. A word will be given its ordinary, commonly accepted meaning, and a technical word or term will be given its technical meaning, unless the parties clearly intended something else. 4. Specific and e

24、xact wording will be given greater consideration than general language. 5. Written or typewritten terms prevail over printed ones,模糊条款,3. 合同中的单词将按照它的普通意义和通常情况下被接受的意义来解释，一个技术性的单词或术语将按照它的技术意义来解释，除非合同各方清楚地表明了其他意义。 4. 与一般性的语言相比，具体的和精确的用语将被重点考虑。 5. 当存在几种书面形式时，将以手写和打字机打出的术语为准，而非打印出的术语,Ambiguities,6. When

25、the language used has more than one meaning, it will be interpreted against the party who drafted the contract. 7. When evidence of trade usage, prior dealings between the parties, and previous course of performance under the contract is admitted, what each of the parties does in pursuance of the co

26、ntract will be interpreted as consistent with what the other does and with any relevant usage of trade and course of dealing and performance,模糊条款,6. 当所用的语言具有多种意义时，将参照合同起草方对合同条款的解释。. 7. 当在合同方之间存在贸易惯例或先前交易方面的证据，以前的履行方针是可以接受的，对合同任何一方为了达成合同所做的努力的解释,将必须与合同另一方为达成合同所做的努力以及任何相关的贸易惯例和交易及履行方针保持一致,Ambiguities,

27、In the above circumstances, express terms are given the greatest weight, followed by course of performance, course of dealing, and usage of trade, in that order. When considering custom and usage, a court will look at the customs and usage of trade of the particular business and the locale where the

28、 contract was made or is to be performed,模糊条款,在上述情况下，明确化的术语将会被给予最重的分量，其次是 履行方针，交易方针， 和贸易惯例，应该按照以上分量顺序。当考虑到习惯或惯例时，法庭将考虑签订合同或履行合同所在的相关特定商业领域和地区的贸易习惯和惯例,Contract Interpretation Principles,Duty to Mitigate A party that suffers a loss due to a breach of contract must take reasonable steps to reduce the a

29、mount of damages suffered Liquidated damages (Penalty Clauses) Must be based on genuine pre-estimates of damages (Rule is to compensate, not punish) Quantum Meruit When price is not an express term of the contract then amount is determined by - as much as is reasonably deserved,合同解释原理,减少损失的责任 由于合同违约

30、而遭受损失的合同方必须采取合理的行动来减少所遭受损失的数量。 清算损失 (惩罚条款) 必须建立在真实的对损失的预先估算之上 (法律的目的是为了赔偿，不是为了惩罚) 数量 Meruit 当价格不是合同中的一个明确表述的条款时，数量取决于其最高的合理价值,Contract Interpretation Principles,Specific Performance To remedy a dispute, court may require a party to a contract to perform a contractual obligation. Usually occurs in contracts concerning the sale of property Injunction A court order