On Liquidated Moral Damage Compensation

There has always been a focus of academic debate for the existence of compensation for mental damage in Contract Law. Scholars holding the traditional viewpoints believe that compensation for mental damage should be applicable to Tort Law system only. But the author believes that compensation for mental damage can as well be applicable to Contract Law referring to the foreign legislative and judicial experiences.In this dissertation, the author discusses the possibility and proposals of legislation for compensation for mental damage in breach of contract. Except Introduction and Conclusion, there are five chapters in the dissertation. The first chapter describes the definition and characteristics of compensation for mental damage in breach of contract. The second chapter introduces a number of countries and China's legislative and judicial status quo, and points out that compensation for mental damage in breach of contract, which has undergone a process from being negated to being accepted in many countries, is in line with the development of modern legal system. Meanwhile, the application of compensation for mental damage in breach of contract has been found in recent years'cases, setting good examples in China's judicial practices. The third chapter analyses the feasibility of compensation for mental damage in breach of contract. The author believes the establishment of compensation for moral damage in breach of contract is a result of the continuous development of the Contract Law as well as an accelerator for the perfection of China's legal system. Besides, the author discusses the rationality of compensation for mental damage in breach of contract. The fourth chapter illustrates key elements of compensation for mental damage in breach of contract, which are the fact of breach of contract, the fact of a certain extent of mental damage and the causation between the two facts. Moreover, some restriction rules and applications of compensation for mental damage in breach of contract should be set up and be classified according to China's situation. In the fifth chapter, the author suggests some proposals on principles and calculation method of compensation for mental damage in breach of contract.