Culpa in Contrahendo in Chinese Contract Law
14 Pages Posted: 23 Oct 2015
Date Written: October 31, 2013
Abstract
The principle of culpa in contrahendo has had a major influence on legal systems worldwide since it was developed by Rudolph von Jhering 153 years ago. In the People’s Republic of China, culpa in contrahendo was first introduced as a result of theory reception. The former Economic Contract Law (1981) and the General Principles of Civil Law (1986) have partially accepted the idea of culpa in contrahendo. Provisions of the PRC Contract Law (1999) bear resemblance to culpa in contrahendo (arts. 42 and 43), with numerous references to foreign civil law theories and provisions of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (PICC, arts. 2.1.15 and 2.1.16) and the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL, arts. 2:301 and 2:302). These provisions are interpreted as precontractual obligations and the liability for culpa in contrahendo. Article 58 of the Contract Law on the effects of a void contract also includes some effects of the liability for culpa in contrahendo. Hereafter, Chinese legislation (Part II), judicial interpretations and cases (Part III) and legal theories (Part IV) will be described and analyzed.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation