Study On The Application Of The Price Reduction Clause In Article 582 Of The Civil Code

Article 582 of China’s Civil Code stipulates that for "performance that does not conform to the agreement",the injured party has the right to choose to let the other party bear the liability for breach of contract of "reduced price" according to the nature of the subject matter and the size of the loss.How to apply this provision has always been a difficult issue that has plagued theory and judicial practice.Searching for relevant cases within the scope of the promulgation and application of the Civil Code,it is found that judicial practice has problems such as unclear scope of application,uncertain subject of application,confusion with other remedies for breach of contract such as damages,and inconsistent calculation of the amount of price reduction.The reason for the problem is that the theoretical circles have a vague understanding of the nature of price reduction,the function of price reduction is not clearly defined,and the exercise rules and constituent elements of price reduction are difficult to be clear.Price reduction,as a means of assuming liability for breach of contract,is not the same as the agreement between the parties at the conclusion of the contract.The creditor’s right to choose the way to bear the liability for default belongs to the right of formation,and although the application and realization of the right to reduce the price is expressed by the right of claim,its essence is still the right of formation.Based on this consideration,the price payment obligation should be taken as the consideration standard in the scope of application of the price reduction;In the applicable subject of the price reduction,the subject chosen is the party whose property has been damaged;Give the parties the right to choose between the applicable price reduction and other remedies for breach of contract;If the injured party still has losses after the price reduction is applied,the damage compensation rule can still be applied;In terms of calculating the amount of price reduction,after classifying the difficulty of quantifying the value of the contract subject,the proportional method is adopted to calculate it more scientifically.In terms of specific procedural arrangements,the court should respect the parties’ right to choose,and can only explain that the price reduction cannot be directly applied.In order to provide a feasible academic basis for courts to hear cases and unify the practices in judicial practice.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,this article consists of five parts:The first part analyzes the nature and application effect of price reduction on the basis of semantic analysis of the price reduction in Article 582 of the Civil Code.Whether the right to reduce the price is a right of claim or the right to form has always been a matter of disagreement among scholars,the article analyzes and reviews the two views in detail,and identifies it as the right of formation in combination with extraterritorial legislation and the current research status in China,and at the same time,in the context of China’s defect guarantee liability and breach of contract liability has been integrated,it is believed that price reduction should be one of the ways to bear the liability for breach of contract.The "partial rescission theory" in extraterritorial law is not applicable in Chinese law,and it is more appropriate to recognize the effect of price reduction as a contract modification.The second part first summarizes the current dilemma of price reduction clauses in judicial application by way of case analysis,which is mainly reflected in: the scope of application of price reduction is unclear,that is,it is not clear that price reduction can be applied to all contract types;The subjects of price reduction initiation are different,that is,the court voluntarily chooses to apply the price reduction ex officio or the parties claim that the application is not uniform;Confusion between the application of price reduction and other remedies for breach of contract,that is,whether there is a priority in application between the price reduction and the supplementary performance method,and whether the price reduction and damages can be used together;The calculation method of the price reduction amount is indefinite,that is,the court uses different calculation methods in the process of calculating the specific amount of the price reduction.Then,the reasons for the dilemma of price reduction application are analyzed: mainly the nature of price reduction is not clearly defined,the functional positioning of price reduction is not clear,and the constituent elements of price reduction are not clear.Part Ⅲ clarifies the basic conditions for the application of price reduction,and clarifies that price reduction can be applied to all contracts in which the payment of the price is the obligation of one party;The court cannot apply the price reduction ex officio.Clarify the particularity of the requirements for price reduction in specific operations: the creditor accepts performance that does not conform to the contract;The creditor fulfills the inspection obligation in a timely manner and notifies the debtor;The aggrieved party’s choice of the manner in which it bears liability for breach of contract is a "reasonable choice";Where the law provides for special provisions,the debtor’s fault element.Part Ⅳ clarifies the choice of application between price reduction and other remedies for breach of contract,and considers that repair,rework and replacement do not take precedence over price reduction,except for special provisions in legislation in special areas.For damages,it is divided into two scopes and directed damages,one is to cover the performance of the benefits stipulated in the original contract;The other is compensation for damages caused by non-performance in addition to the benefits of the original contract performance.The price reduction overlaps in scope with the first type of damages,so it cannot be used together,but there is room for parallel use with the second type of damages.The fifth part mainly analyzes the calculation method of the amount of the price reduction,and believes that for the determination of the actual value of performance that does not conform to the contract,the time of contract and the place of performance of the contract are taken as considerations,and on this basis,the specific amount of the price reduction is divided into two levels based on the possibility of value acquisition.In the case that the value that does not conform to the performance of the contract is easily obtainable,the proportional method calculation is more scientific;In cases where the value cannot be obtained or the cost of obtaining it is too high,the parties shall determine the amount of the price reduction through negotiation or the judge shall determine at his discretion.