Study On Legal Validity Of Sale Contract In The Song Dynasty

The development of commodity economy caused the complexity of propertyrelations in the Song Dynasty. The social contract relations especially the sale contractrelations developed rapidly. In order to promote the development of commodity economyand maintain the transaction order, the Song Dynasty had made a lot of contract laws andregulations and formed a unique system of legal validity of sale contract based on thetraditional legal systemThere are many aspects of objective elements affecting legal validity of sale contractincluding the necessary elements for sale contract such as subject, programming, objectand the external guarantee. The range of sale contract subject was more wider than before,a businessman and a renter could be involved in the contract of sale as equal subject. Butdisposition right of family property was restricted by the traditional identities. Humbleyounger, women, officials didn’t have independent qualification of contract subject. Inorder to protect the interests of a specific group, the civil law of Song Dynasty haddeveloped a perfect preemption priority such as neighbors priority and renters priority.Legal subject qualification has an inhibitory function on the validity of contract.The trading programs of immovable property, special movable property andvaluables were strictly limited in Song Dynasty in order to ensure state tax and tradingorder. The subject matter of the transaction were more abundant than before with thedevelopment of handicraft industry and commerce. The law clearly stipulated on the rangeof products restricted or prohibited based on the maintenance of national interests, securityand traditional value system. The credit sale contract promote the prosperity andperfection of guarantee system which became an important aspect to affect the validityof sale contract. The scope of subject matter of the guarantee property and perfection ofsystem did not exist before. The creation of credit guarantee break through the traditional"hostage" guarantee and embodied the characteristics of credit economy in Song dynasty.The validity of the sale contract was also affected by the subjective factors, the signcontract should comply with both willing. Willing principle as the legal characteristics ofSong Dynasty became a basic principle of the sale contract and reflected the developmentand progress of the times. Forced selling behavior was prohibited, transaction betweenofficials and people and transaction among people should follow the wiling principle which was also an important basis for resolving disputes legislatively. Moreover, thisprinciple has become a part of the sale contract in real life. Content of willing principlewere more abundant in the Southern Song and all reluctant sale contract were notprotected by the law.The validity system of sales contract was relatively perfect with the development ofcommodity economy, need for political and the thought of ruling the country according tolaw in the Song Dynasty, The validity system of contract had the synergistic politicalfunction to protect national interests, public interests and family interests and socialfunction to settle disputes of property rights litigation between officials and people oramong people. Also, it promoted the development of the commodity economy bymaintaining the traditional faithful etiquette values. Especially, willing principle embodiedthe characteristics of the legal validity system of sale contract in the Song Dynasty.