| In daily life, some acts appear to be legal acts. However, it is beyonddoubt thatthe actors do not have the intention to conduct legal acts at all.Generally, the acts will not bind theactors from the perspective of law. Inorder to make a distinction from legal acts, the concept of “friendshipbehavior†was proposed to describe those acts mentioned above. Theterm“friendship†used here is due to the fact that this category of acts iscarried on largely in the context of friendship. However, many actsconducted by people may involve friendly feelings, including some legalacts and factual acts, which can be classical legal facts and which can bindthe actors, unquestionably. Why the legal effects are entirely different,when acts are conducted due to the exact same feeling of being kind? Toanswer this question, the definition of friendship behavior will be involved.Based on comparative analyses on the concepts, characteristics andthe constitutive elements among friendship behaviors, legal acts,quasi-legal acts and factual acts, this article draws the conclusion thatwhilethe existence of expression of intention is the main factor in judging thelegal effects of friendship behaviors, legal acts, quasi-legal acts and factualacts, whether the legal effects will take place or not is the result of valuejudgment by law on the four kinds of acts. Because of the requirement ofstability on legal acts, the law reasonably constructs the existence of theactors’ intention of being bound by law, disregarding whether the intentionis actually or objectively existing or not. The statement of “actors’intentionto have the legal effects†in the definition of legal act and the assimilationthe subject matter of act, which is one of the elements of the formation oflegal act, by the concept of declaration of intention make the element of “constructed intention of being bound by law†cover the legal value ofsubject matter of legal act, which is thebasis for happening of legal effectsof the legal act. This is why legal acts and friendship behaviors aredistinguished based on the existence of the intentionto be bound by law.The distinctions among friendship behaviors, quasi-legal acts and factualacts should also base on the standard mentioned above.Based on the definition of friendship behavior, this article dividedfriendship behavior into three categories: invitation behavior, assistancebehavior, and friendship-maintaining behavior, according to the similarityof the corresponding types of legal act. Also, the article made amicrocosmic, concrete analysis on distinctions of the three types friendshipbehavior with related legal acts and other social acts, which do not have theethicalmeanings.In the end, the article states that the ethical value of friendshipbehavior is negatively recognized by law, therefore friendship behavioritself does not have the legal binding effects, but it can have legal effectsinpreventing the occurrence of unjust enrichment, protecting the relianceinterest and mitigate the tort liability. These are the exact legal values offriendship behavior. |
