negative act 通常指的是某种形式的不作为、拒绝行动或故意避免采取某项行动。包括forbearance(有意不为)和omission (非故意不为)。

forbearance是指有意不作为，为一种有意消极行为( intentional negative act),在合同法中常作为一种对价;

如

In consideration of the borrower's current financial difficulties, the lender agrees to a forbearance of loan repayments for a period of six months, during which interest will continue to accrue.

鉴于借款人当前的财务困难，贷款人同意对贷款偿还进行六个月的有意不为，期间利息将继续累积。

omission(旧称omittance)则是指一种无意的不作为行为( an unintentional negative act )，常用在侵权法中。

如

The contractor's failure to secure the construction site, an omission that led to unauthorized access and subsequent damage, was deemed negligent.

承包商未能确保施工现场的安全，这种非故意的不作为导致了未经授权的进入和随后的损坏，被认定为疏忽。

通常omission和act一起使用，构成固定搭配act or omission，表示“作为或不作为”。

如

That person shall not be subjected to any civil suit (being a civil suit to which the person could not be subject if he were not in the Requesting Party) in respect of any act or omission of the person that is alleged to have occurred, or that had occurred, before the person’s departure from the Requested Party.

该人不得因他在离开被请求方之前作出的或被指称作出的任何作为或不作为而遭受任何民事起诉(但只限于假如该人不在请求方则不得遭受的民事起诉)。

转载自：旗渡红蓝律网站  作者：旗渡多语信息中心（出海资讯定制）