계속적 계약의 해지와 계약이행보증금에 관한 소고 - 대상판결: 대법원 2018. 12. 27. 선고 2016다274270, 274287 판결

While the traditional contract law system assumes that contracts are for a limited term or discrete periods of time, we have various forms of long-term or continuous contracts in these days. Long-term contracts differ from temporary or one-time contracts in that the contracts must last for a long period of time. A continuous contract is established based upon mutual trust between the parties, and as the contract continues, the relationship between the parties is formed and developed. Sometimes they make further investments or create another legal relationships under the assumption that the contract will last for the contract period or longer. Another feature is that the possibility that the circumstances will change during the contract period increases for a long-term contract. The Supreme Court Decision 2016Da274270, 274287 decided Dec. 27, 2018 shows the above characteristics from the bargaining stage of the parties entering into long-term contractual relationship to performance of the contract, change of circumstances, and finally termination during the term of the contract. In this paper, I particularly deal with the performance bond to be issued with a continuous contract, and the requirements or effectiveness of each alleging termination cause. In order to interpret a continuous contract and to reasonably solve disputes surrounding it, it is necessary to understand the nature of the contract and take into account the totality of the circumstances including the negotiation process, the practice of transactions, performance or breach of the contract, relationship between the parties, etc. It is hoped that more research on continuous contracts will come and the results will be applied to the transactions in the real world.