Cengolio · Contract review · Specimen
Specimen report
Thirteen findings across twenty-one clauses of a supply agreement signed in both languages. This is what arrives.
Findings
21Clauses read
A green mark means the divergence turns on a question of law. Grey means it is explicable on the wording and can be repaired in the drafting.
F-01Clause 21.2ContradictionLegal assessment required
EN
In the event of any conflict between the English and the German version, the English version shall prevail.
DE
Im Falle von Widersprüchen zwischen der englischen und der deutschen Fassung ist die deutsche Fassung maßgeblich.
Each version nominates itself as the governing text. The two clauses
cannot both operate as drafted. This finding rests on the wording alone. Which version governs,
and what follows from that for the twelve findings below, is a question of law.
F-02Clause 20.1TerminologyWording point
EN
The provisions of this Agreement shall bind the parties’ successors and permitted assigns.
DE
Die Provisionen dieses Vertrages binden die Rechtsnachfolger und zugelassenen Zessionare der Parteien.
The identical twin caught the translator. Provision in German is a
commission, the sales agent’s pay, § 87 HGB. The clause word is Bestimmung. As written,
the German says the commissions under this contract bind the parties’ successors, which is
not a sentence anyone intended. No legal question arises. It is repaired in the drafting, and
until it is, any German reader knows in one line that the text was never checked.
→ Note: provision
F-03Clause 8.1TerminologyLegal assessment recommended
EN
The Supplier warrants that the Goods will conform to the Specification for twenty-four (24) months from delivery.
DE
Der Lieferant garantiert, dass die Ware für vierundzwanzig (24) Monate ab Lieferung der Spezifikation entspricht.
German holds two institutions apart where the English has one word.
Gewährleistung is the statutory liability for defects. Garantie is a promise assumed on top
of it, § 443 BGB. The German version selects the second. The English warrants does not
itself select between them.
→ Note: warranty
F-04Clause 15.1TerminologyLegal assessment recommended
EN
Either party may terminate this Agreement on thirty (30) days’ written notice.
DE
Jede Partei kann von diesem Vertrag mit einer Frist von dreißig (30) Tagen schriftlich zurücktreten.
One English exit, three German doors. Kündigung ends a continuing
contract for the future. Rücktritt unwinds the exchange back to the start. Aufhebung ends it
by agreement. The English terminate selects none of them. The German version selects Rücktritt,
and the door chosen decides what happens to everything already delivered and paid for.
→ Note: termination
F-05Clause 12.3TerminologyLegal assessment recommended
EN
…the Supplier shall pay liquidated damages of 0.5 per cent of the Price for each week of delay, up to a maximum of 5 per cent.
DE
…zahlt der Lieferant eine Vertragsstrafe in Höhe von 0,5 % des Preises je Woche des Verzugs, höchstens jedoch 5 %.
The English line between the enforceable pre-estimate and the void
penalty has no German counterpart. Vertragsstrafe covers the clause that exerts pressure on
performance, §§ 339 ff. BGB, and § 348 HGB shuts the court’s power to scale
it down between merchants. Pauschalierter Schadensersatz is the alternative rendering and fixes
the expected loss only. The German version selects the first.
→ Note: liquidated damages
F-06Clause 4.2TerminologyLegal assessment recommended
EN
Interest shall accrue on overdue sums at 4 per cent above base rate and shall compound monthly until payment.
DE
Auf überfällige Beträge fallen Zinsen von 4 % über dem Basiszinssatz an, die monatlich kapitalisiert werden, bis Zahlung erfolgt.
The German follows the English word for word, and that is the finding.
Behind the German words sits a wall the English clause never meets: § 248 BGB voids interest
on interest agreed in advance, narrow statutory exceptions aside. The rendering is faithful.
Whether the clause it renders can stand in German is the question this hands on.
→ Note: interest
F-07Clause 9.4OmissionLegal assessment recommended
EN
…save to the extent that such liabilities arise from the Buyer’s own negligence or breach of this Agreement.
DE
no corresponding wording
The exception in the English text has no counterpart in the German.
The German clause states the obligation without the carve-out.
F-08Clause 2.3FiguresLegal assessment recommended
EN
The Buyer shall notify the Supplier of any shortage within thirty (30) days of delivery.
DE
Der Käufer hat dem Lieferanten Fehlmengen innerhalb von vierzehn (14) Tagen ab Lieferung anzuzeigen.
The two versions state different periods. No linguistic explanation
accounts for the difference. It is recorded as a discrepancy in the figures.
F-09Clause 11.2TerminologyLegal assessment recommended
EN
The Supplier shall indemnify the Buyer against all liabilities arising from any third-party claim.
DE
Der Lieferant entschädigt den Käufer für alle Verbindlichkeiten aus Ansprüchen Dritter.
Freistellung is the claim to be kept clear of a liability before it is
paid. Entschädigung moves the trigger from exposure to loss: the buyer is reimbursed after
the damage instead of shielded from the claim. Both texts use one verb. They do not describe the
same moment.
→ Note: indemnity
F-10Clause 3.1AdditionLegal assessment recommended
EN
The Price is as set out in Schedule 2.
DE
Der Preis ergibt sich aus Anlage 2 nach Maßgabe der jeweils gültigen Preisliste des Lieferanten.
The German carries a reference to the Supplier’s current price
list which has no counterpart in the English. The addition is not accounted for by the English
wording.
F-11Clause 19.1ScopeLegal assessment recommended
EN
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior arrangements.
DE
Dieser Vertrag stellt die vollständige Vereinbarung der Parteien dar und ersetzt alle vorherigen Absprachen.
The rendering is the established one. What travels with it is smaller
than the English reads: § 305b BGB gives individually agreed terms priority over standard
ones, so the clause cannot on its own lock out what the parties negotiated apart from the form.
The finding is that the two texts carry the same words and not the same reach.
→ Note: entire agreement
F-12Clause 5.2ModalityWording point
EN
The Supplier shall deliver the Goods to the Delivery Point on the Delivery Date.
DE
Der Lieferant soll die Ware am Liefertermin an den Lieferort liefern.
German contracts state duties in the present tense, der Lieferant
liefert, or say ist verpflichtet outright. Soll sits a register below muss; in German legal usage
a Soll rule is the rule with built-in exceptions. Every hard English duty in this text comes out
one notch weaker. The pattern runs through the German version, not only here.
→ Note: shall
F-13RecitalsGenreWording point
EN
WHEREAS the Supplier is engaged in the manufacture of precision components;
DE
WOHINGEGEN der Lieferant in der Herstellung von Präzisionsbauteilen tätig ist;
German contracts open with a Vorbemerkung or a Präambel and do
not head their recitals with a conjunction. Wohingegen is a mid-sentence contrast word. The
typography has been translated and the genre lost.
→ Note: whereas
The limit
This report finds divergences; it does not assess them in law. Flagged findings belong to a lawyer qualified in the jurisdiction concerned.
C.Translations UG is a language service. It is not a law firm and is not authorised to provide legal services.
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