What 格式条款 means
The party supplying standard terms has special duties, including drawing attention to clauses with significant effects on the other party and explaining them on request. Certain exclusions or limitations may be invalid or interpreted against the supplier.
Website terms, platform agreements, logistics conditions and supplier templates can all contain standard terms. The legal risk turns on drafting, presentation and the contracting process, not merely on calling the document “negotiated”.
Where you see the term
Translation note
格式条款 is often “standard terms” or “standard-form clauses”. Avoid “format clauses”, which is literal but unnatural English.
Primary legal basis
Example
A logistics company buries a broad liability exclusion in small-print standard conditions. The enforceability analysis includes whether adequate notice was given.
Primary authorities.
18 Sep 2026