| As a typical contract law in common law system,American contract law has become a reference for many countries and international organizations to formulate contract law because of its respect for private autonomy,pragmatism and flexibility.As the most common and effective means of relief sought by the parties as a result of breach of contract,the key to default damages lies not only in determining the existence of facts or damages as of breach of contract,but also in determining the scope of breach.Since the scope of damage is affected by the nature of the contract,the content of the contract,the breach and other factors,its variability leads to the importance of uniform calculation rules of default damages.Through the theoretical research of Fuller et al.,the American contract law has gradually formed the rules of calculating default damages based on different interests,including expectation interest,reliance interest and restitution interest.Several restrictions to the above interests have been made regarding the scope of damage under default at the same time.In order to sort out the rules for calculating default damages in the United States with precise and complete analysis,this thesis will discuss the limitation rules of the scope of default damages by analyzing American law,case law and theories,etc.,while forming the complete calculation rules.Finally,though comparison of the provisions of damage under default in both American contract law and Contract Law of China,this thesis puts forward a proposal of contract part in the future civil code.This thesis is divided into seven parts.The first part discusses the framework of the system of default damages in American contract law.Through the explanation of <Reliance Interest in Contract Damages>,Uniform Commercial Code,and Restatement(Second)of Contracts on the part of default damages,this thesis is formed to introduce the theoretical source and legal norms of the system of default damages in American law.The second part discusses the expectation interest.This part first discusses the purpose and value of expectation interests,as well as advantages of the application of expectation interest as a common means of relief.This section then discusses the calculation of expectation interest under different circumstances,including contracts for the sale of goods,construction contracts,contracts for the sale of real estate and contracts for labor services.Finally,this part discusses many limitations of the expectation interest,including the subjective standard,foreseeability,mitigation of damages,rules regarding certainty,causation and question of economic efficiency.The third part discusses the reliance interest.On the basis of the introduction of the purpose and value of reliance interest,this part discusses the calculation of reliance interest and the determination of lost opportunities.At the same time limitations of reliance interest including foreseeability,rules regarding certainty and the objective standard are discussed,and foreseeability and the subjective/objective judgment standards are connected by the analysis of the content and scope of foreseeability.The fourth part discusses the restitution interest.On the basis of discussing the purpose and value of the restitution interest,this part discusses the use of ‘quantum meruit’ as the connection between unjust enrichment and contract.The thesis then discusses the embodiment of the performance status,the nature of the contract,the subject of the request,the fault of the parties as well as other factors limiting recovery.The fifth part discusses the relationship between restitution interest,reliance interest and expectation interest.This part first discusses the progressive relationship between these three interests,and then discusses the inclusive relationship and choice between each interest by analyzing their relationship with each other.The sixth part discusses the development of the system of default damages in American contract law.This part discusses the reflection by the American academics on the traditional theory of default damages,as well as the supplement and adjustment of the system of default damages by American academics and judicial practitioners.The seventh part discusses the construction of China’s system of default damages.This part first discusses the current system of default damages through Article 113 of the Contract Law of China and analyzes its existing problems,and then suggests improvement of structuring the system of default damages in Civil Code from the compensation path and calculation rules. |
