1、            概述
網(wǎng)絡(luò)上有人說(shuō)Witnesseth 若在合同開頭時(shí)出現(xiàn)則其= Whereas ＝鑒于，還有人說(shuō)其含義是“依照本協(xié)定的條款規(guī)定”。今天我們就來(lái)說(shuō)一下這個(gè)詞語(yǔ)到底什么意思。
《元照英美法詞典》、《英漢法律縮略語(yǔ)詞典》、《英漢法律詞典》和《英漢法律用語(yǔ)大詞典》均沒有收錄該詞。
2、            含義及簡(jiǎn)介
Witnesseth vb. Shows; records 表明；記錄
該詞通常全部大寫。通常用于合同和affidavits的開始部分。Preamble后面是句號(hào)，然后是全大寫的WITNESSETH。
3、            功能與作用
當(dāng)用于合同中時(shí)，其將preliminaries直到recitals的部分與合同條款部分分開。其主語(yǔ)是This agreement。其所在的句子簡(jiǎn)化一下就是
This Agreement witnesseth [i.e., shows or records] that, whereas [the parties have agreed to contract with one another], the parties therefore agree as follows....
也有人認(rèn)為其作為標(biāo)題是無(wú)意義的。
現(xiàn)代的起草者將其視為殘存的文體，避免使用它。
4、            正確用法
This AGREEMENT entered into this _____ day of _____________, 20____,
by and between the City of Pocatello, a municipal corporation of Idaho, hereinafter referred to as “City,”and______________________________,
hereinafter referred to as “Landlord.”
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, the purpose of this Agreement is to provide continuous utility service to the
premises specified herein regardless of changes in occupancy.
NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the mutual promises set forth herein, the parties hereto agree as follows:
5、            錯(cuò)誤用法
許多現(xiàn)代合同在preamble中有新的動(dòng)詞出現(xiàn)時(shí)仍錯(cuò)誤地保留witnesseth。比如美國(guó)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資協(xié)會(huì)示范文本MODEL INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT中的這個(gè)例子：
THIS INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT (the “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of [___________], 200[_] between [CORPORATION], a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and [name] (“Indemnitee”).
WITNESSETH THAT:
WHEREAS, highly competent persons have become more reluctant to serve corporations as [directors] [officers] or in other capacities unless they are provided with adequate protection through insurance or adequate indemnification against inordinate risks of claims and actions against them arising out of their service to and activities on behalf of the corporation;
....
6、witness與witnesseth啥區(qū)別
Witnesseth中的-eth后綴表明witnesseth是動(dòng)詞witness的第三人稱單數(shù)形式，-eth的出現(xiàn)表明其所在的句子是現(xiàn)在時(shí)態(tài)。（加納牛津，329）。
She sings= She singeth. He says= He siyeth. She witnesses= She witnesseth. (加納牛津，938)
17世紀(jì)之前，-eth后綴僅是英語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞第三人稱單數(shù)的屈折變化（inflection）之一（alternative）。主要用于英格蘭南部。但17世紀(jì)末就很罕見了。She calls取代了she calleth。
7、如何翻譯
合同首部出現(xiàn)的witnesseth一般不需要譯出。比如4與5中的witnesseth
均不需要譯出。
8、in witnesseth whereof, in witnesseth thereof 與in witness whereof, in witness thereof
有人說(shuō)短語(yǔ)IN WITNESSETH WHEREOF/THEREFORE常出現(xiàn)于合同
結(jié)尾條款中，表示作為所簽協(xié)議事項(xiàng)的證據(jù)。真的如此嗎？
這四個(gè)表達(dá)在谷歌香港的搜索結(jié)果分別是4540項(xiàng)，45項(xiàng)，219萬(wàn)項(xiàng)和8.7萬(wàn)項(xiàng)。這些數(shù)字其實(shí)已經(jīng)表明了結(jié)果。
上述表達(dá)哪些是錯(cuò)誤的？為什么？請(qǐng)各位自己思考。
 
本文參考資料：
《布萊克法律詞典》第八版，加納《牛津現(xiàn)代法律用語(yǔ)詞典》以及其他網(wǎng)絡(luò)資料。
 
附小資料：屈折變化和屈折詞綴Inflectional affix
在語(yǔ)法學(xué)中，詞形變化或屈折變化（Inflection or inflexion）指單字(或詞根)拼法的改變，導(dǎo)致語(yǔ)法功能改變，進(jìn)而使其代表的意義也有所改變。多因應(yīng)格、數(shù)和性等方面的不同而導(dǎo)致的書寫形式的變化。其中表示該詞匯基本概念的部份稱為“詞根”。轉(zhuǎn)載自
1、                    Inflectional affixes very often only add a minute or delicate grammatical meaning to the stem.屈折詞綴常常在詞干后面添加一個(gè)微小的或微妙的語(yǔ)法意義。
2、                    Inflectional affixes do not change the Word class they attach to.屈折詞綴不改變?cè)~類。
3、                    Inflectional affixes are conditioned by Nonsemantic linguistic factors outside the word they attach to but within the phrase or sentence.屈折詞綴受到的限制是非語(yǔ)義性的語(yǔ)言因素，這一因素在它們所依附的詞以外，但是在短語(yǔ)或句子之內(nèi)。Eg. The boy likes to …Likes就是由句子的主語(yǔ)決定的。
4、Inflectional affixes are mostly suffixes.屈折詞綴絕大部分是后綴
 

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