译文(字数 7059):
设立中公司合同在法律中确定性的承诺
——普南普里
引言
加拿大的公司法法律法规一般规定,公司在其注册证书被政府机构出具之前是不存在的。然而,在许多情况下,发起人(指那些在合并某公司或谁打算这样做的过程中的人)可能会发现有必要或希望与第三方代表在公司成立之前签订合同。这些合同可以包括租赁或购买房地产和设备,雇用关键员工,安排融资,排队,或锁定客户。
在实践中,大多数设立中公司合同不会给那些打算直接获益的当事人造成任何困难。在正常情况下,一旦公司被合并,公司和第三方履行合同。然而,当公司不能成立,或公司成立但拒绝履行合同时,关系到当事人的权利和责任的法律难题就会出现。在这种情况下,下列问题必须得到解决:在何种程度上是发起人承担责任?在合同中对公司有什么责任?当存在责任时,是发起人免除责任?还是根据政策来确定是否有发起人或第三方必须承担损失的风险?
外文原文(字符数 24337):
The Promise of Certainty in the Law of Pre-Incorporation Contracts.
----Poonam Puri*
Introduction
Corporate law statutes in Canada generally provide that a corporation does not come into existence until its certificate of incorporation has been issued by the appropriate government agency. However, in many cases, promoters (individuals who are in the process of incorporating a company or who intend to do so) may find it necessary or desirable to enter into contracts with third parties on behalf of the corporation prior to its incorporation. Such contracts may include leasing or purchasing real property and equipment, hiring key employees, arranging financing, lining up suppliers, or locking-in clients.
In practice, most pre-incorporation contracts cause no difficulty for the parties who intend to benefit directly from them. In the normal course of events, once the corporation is incorporated, both the corporation and the third party perform on the contract. However, when the corporation does not come into existence, or comes into existence but refuses to adopt a contract, difficult legal issues arise in relation to the rights and liabilities of the parties. In these situations, the following questions must be resolved: To what extent is the promoter liable on the contract? To what extent is the corporation liable on the contract? When, if at all, is the promoter relieved from liability? The policy issue, of course, is whether the promoter or the third party must bear the risk of loss.