Compensation For Spiritual Damage By Breach Of Contracts

Since the economy of our country experiences a rapid development,the spiritual life of people has been enriched to great extent.The spiritual interest has been paid more attention to as well.As a part of contract interests,such spirit benefits can without any doubt be harmed upon breach of contracts.Nevertheless,spiritual damages resulted therefore are still not regulated under provisions of contract law.According to relevant provisions of our civil law,the right to claim for spiritual damages can only be claimed in tort liability.The victim must prove the fault of the infringer or other factors to support his claim,which makes it difficult for victims in many situations to receive full legal remedies.To dissolve this embarrassment,the judiciary authorities try to provide more comprehensive protection for victims in certain cases by expanding interpretation of regulations in existing laws.However,this approach can’t be done once and for ever.The legislature shall give corresponding solutions to the lack of relevant provisions.During one-year LL.M study in Germany,I read many books and articles regarding the legislation of the immaterial damages in German law system.Referring to discussion between several German jurists,this article tries to comprehend the feasibility of establishing compensation for spiritual damage by breach of contracts in Chinese civil legal system and the factors to be noticed,based on research about development of associated institution in German law and application thereof.This article comprises five parts as follows:Chapter One discusses the existence of spiritual damage in contractual disputes and current problems in China due to the lack of compensation for spiritual damage by breach of contracts through analysis of current relevant judicial decisions in our country.On the one hand,specific contract spiritual interests are not able to obtain legal remedies;on the other hand,through various decisions of courts,this part analyzes their attitude towards the application of mental compensation to the case of contract violation and the legal thinking hidden behind,in order to state the necessity of unifying judicial opinions.In addition,this part will also briefly introduce the current domestic research on compensation of spiritual damages by breach of contract,the main points of view of relevant scholars and the shortcomings thereof.The opinion of this paper will then be brought out through specific research methods.Chapter Two analyzes the scope of spiritual damages.Although it lacks specific definitions in relevant legal regulations,this part will still try to figure out the legal term"compensation for spiritual damages" by introducing the opinions of scholars and related judgments,and comparing it with "immaterial damages" in German legal system.Then the comparative method in this article can be proved to be rational as well.Chapter Three discusses the development of German legal system in immaterial damages at breach of contract in detail.Taking "German Civil Code" as the time point,this paper analyzes scholars’ opinions on this issue before and after the entry into force of the law and specific understanding of the legislature respectively,so as to comprehend what changes have taken place in the legal logic during the reform of the Damages Law in 2002,in order to provide theoretical support for construction of compensation for spiritual damage by breach of contracts in our country.In addition,this part will also focus on the judicial practice after the establishment of this institution in German law and summarize relevant experience in these cases,thus eliminating some scholars’ doubts about "excessively expanding the discretion of judges·”Chapter Four shows the historical evolution of spiritual damages in China to make its progress and limitation in this process understandable.In addition,this part will argue about the feasibility of establishing compensation for spiritual damage by breach of contracts in the legal background of our country,starting from the value of the institution itself.Chapter Five sums up the points that judicial interpretation or application of relevant provisions should pay attention to and delivers own views on how legislation shall establish the system,based on all above analysis.