중국민법상의 계약체결상의 과실책임

The Chinese Contract Law enacted in 1999 provides liabilities for damage in Articles 42 and 43. In particular, the Articles stipulate three cases where one party shall compensate for the loss which the other party suffered. The cases are (a) where one party negotiates for a contract with an intent to deceive the other party; (b) where one party conceals the important facts related to the contract or provides the false information; and (c) where one party discloses trade secret or uses it in the inappropriate manner. The Chinese rules are known to reflect the theory of the German Culpa in Contrahendo. There are, however, differences between German and Chinese Culpa in Contrahendo. Under the German law, the illegal actions can be established only when one party violates the rights listed in Article 831 of the German Civil Law. Thus, when one party causes damage to the other party's interests simply related to the property, there is no basis for illegal actions. In response to the failure to protect the purely property-related interests, the German Culpa in Contrahendo emerged to protect the purely property-related interests. In contrast to the German rules, the Chinese Tort Law enacted in 2009 clarifies that when one party causes damage to the purely property-related interests of the other party, the party shall be liable for the illegal actions.