The Calculation Of Attainable Interest In Breach Of Contract

The Contract Law of P.R.C Article 113 establishes the principle of the compensation for damages of attainable interest. According to this article, the compensation of attainable interest in breach of contract is subject to the rule of foreseeability. However, the court tends to determinacy instead of foreseeability in judicial practice resulting in disavowal of compensation of attainable interest for its uncertainty. In fact, the attainable interest is a kind of future interest, whose substantial characteristic is just uncertainty. So setting the certainty as a standard neither conforms with the intention of legislators nor accords with the legal practice. So we should improve this situation from two aspects: procedure and substance. From the perspective of substance, first of all, the compensation for damages of attainable interest concerns the calculation of damages. Nowadays, the subjects in most of our trades are alternative, which could prevent future loss of attainable interest. It will conform to the actual situation and be much more operational, if we calculate the damages by the way of covering transaction, which gives the non-breaching party unreal obligation. From the perspective of procedure, we should diminish the burden of proof of the non-breaching party, so that the legislative goal of this article could be reached.