The Nature and Positioning of Unilateral Promise Behavior

Abstract: The reasons of debt normally include contract, tort, non-reason management and unjust enrichment and other aspects. The unilateral promise behavior is used as a kind of unilateral legal act, which is different from the above debt causes, contract and also doesn’t conform to “offer-promise” mode. But the unilateral promise behavior is used as special reason and unique constitution behavior, which has special theoretical value and practical significance. We should analyze its development, form and refer to the systematic development and exploration of different countries in the world, improving the relevant laws and regulations in the unilateral promise behavior aspect, which has a reasonable qualitative nature for unilateral promise behavior, making full of its systematic advantages, in order to make it better serve for our civil judicial practice.

Keywords: unilateral promise; offer; contract; unilateral law behavior;

In our daily civil exchange, the contract is the reflection of autonomy of the party, and it takes “offer-promise” mode to exist and fill in our life space. It is through the both parties free to negotiate a way to guarantee the will and benefit of the both parties. In fact, complex social life makes contract and others not complying with the contract elements of the unilateral action for social contact, and unilateral promise behavior is one of the reflections. For example, the commonly seen award advertisement, the setting a reward in selling products, “one false and ten punishments” promise of sales activities and these are the promise of the party, without the meaning of other party. This promise can cause creditor and debtor relationship? We can try from the current debt law system into unilateral promise system angle, analyzing its contract, tort, non-reason management, unjust enrichment in parallel with the contracting negligence, which is one of the causes for the debt.

1 Unilateral Promise and Its Particularity

(1)Definition of Unilateral Promise

Generally the unilateral promise is defined as: the unilateral legal act of party on his side to make payment means. The “recommended draft of civil Chinese reason” edited by Mr. Liang Huixing makes unilateral promise act as the debt reason into debt obligation in the civil code, thinking that unilateral promise is the behavior person makes the unilateral behavior for uncertain person to make payment means.

From the unilateral promise definition and understanding, we can summarize into its special nature, which mainly includes: (1) The unilateral promise is mean to make. (2)The relative person of unilateral promise is specific and not specific, which can be one person or many people. (3)The content of unilateral promise is behavior person sets their own payment limit. (4)The unilateral promise doesn’t make corresponding meaning for relative person to influence its legal force, which has typical unilateral nature.

(2)Unilateral Promise Is Different from Offer.

The offer sets up the contract as the specific meaning. The offer is represented by meaning, and only the offer doesn’t offer effective expectation. The offer means that the offer will not have the expected efficiency of the party, so the offer is non-legal behavior.

(3)The Difference between Unilateral Promise and Unilateral Contract

The unilateral promise is different from unilateral contract, and the latter is a definition to the both parties’ contract, referring to single service contract, and the only party has the contract obligation, and the gift and using contracts are the representatives.

The essential difference is mainly reflected in the difference between contract and unilateral contract. The specific difference method is reflected from result-oriented to condition pushing method. The initial judgment is the payment obligation party, and the debt burden means that whether there is clear relative meaning. If there are the other party’s meaning, it will be the contract.

(4)Unilateral Promise Is an Unilateral Legal Act.

The unilateral promise is a single party to make the meaning, which is the promise party to undertake the debt and the other party relative party has the debt rights.

2 Analysis on Theoretical Circle for Unilateral Promise Behavior Nature

Unilateral promise behavior is what kind of nature behavior, and the theoretical circle has different understanding, which mainly reflects in “contract saying”, “unilateral action saying” and “compromise saying” of the three views.

(1)Contract

The people holding this view think that unilateral promise behavior is used a single person to send the offer to uncertain people. If the other party relative people can smoothly complete the relative specific behavior, then it will constitute the promise, and the both parties will establish the contract.

(2)Individual Behavior Theory

The scholar of taking this view thinks that unilateral promise is in fact the meaning people can make the meaning, but the unilateral promise is responsible for specific obligations on its commitment to the corresponding rights to complete a certain behavior, of course, of course, this doesn’t need relative person to make corresponding compromise.

(3)Eclecticism

Scholars of taking this view think that unilateral promise behavior is defined as “contract” or “individual act” are not right. The relevant scholars think that the unilateral party of conforming to contract method confirm it as the contract and the unilateral party of not conforming to contract method confirm it as single act, so as to better solve the disputes produced in unilateral promise aspect.

3 The Development of Unilateral Promise in Other Jurisdiction

(1)Unilateral Promise System Exists in Mainland Law System

Generally speaking, the continental law system countries usually make unilateral promise clearly identified as causes of debts. In the Germany of perfect civil law system, how it is provision on unilateral promise system? For example, “German civil code” that relates to the reward advertisement in request returns, it doesn’t need to know clearly about reward advertisement, even if the perpetrator knows the advertisement afterwards, it also has the debt right request rights.

Although, to some extent, “German Civil Code” has not used independent system form to establish unilateral promise, at least, it can clearly define the reward advertisement, which is the important representative type of unilateral promise system.

In fact, the contract and culpa error aspect exist the relevant regulations and not perfect adjusting unilateral promise problems. Thus, in Germany, the relevant regulations of unilateral promise system are not complete and perfect.

(2)The Provision of American and British Law System in Unilateral Promise Aspect

The American and British system divides contract into two types, namely, “bilateral contract” and “unilateral contract”, normally contains the promise of the both parties, namely the offer and promise. The unilateral contract establishes, it normally needs a single party to make promise, namely, the offer can establish unilateral contract, the behavior person is to take its own behavior implementing contract behavior, and this is not the contract needed.

According to civil law theory, if one party can make a promise, the content has used by the other promiser to make a certain behavior or undertake some specific obligation to work as obligation promise. Then the other party makes specific behavior or undertake some special obligations, the both parties can establish a contract in fact.

4 Unilateral Promise System and the Debt Law System in China

(1)Unilateral Promise and Contract Error System

Unilateral promise is used as an independent system, which has great significance, and the difference between the two is reflected in two aspects:

First, it should analyze their nature, and unilateral promise normally is used as a legal obligation to exist, thus, the debt reason and content are determined by the promise of the single parties, but the contract error is used as a legal debt to exist. Second, however, the protection object range is used as a starting point to analyze, and the unilateral promise debt is used as unilateral contract debt to exist, and its protection range mainly includes various civil rights, and it includes the trust benefit rights, but the contract error is based on its legal debt nature, and its protection benefit normally includes the injured party’s interest in the loss of reliance interest.

(2)Unilateral Promise and Contract System

Unilateral promise is used as a unilateral meaning to produce effective civil law behavior, and it will be different from many factors of contract. The two can not replace each other, but they can also run parallel to the civil debt law system in China, fully playing their respective value significance.

But, the unilateral promise and contract system have difference. This mainly reflects the two law nature difference. The unilateral promise behavior belongs to unilateral legal act, and it only needs the parties to establish, but the contract is both parties’ law behavior. Only the both parties’ meaning are consistent will they be established. Of course, the unilateral promise and contract adjust the specific behavior types are different, but in social practice, they exist the competition possibility: if a party’s promise conforms to the unilateral promise elements, if at the same time, the other party the relative person makes the corresponding commitment, then this behavior will go into unilateral promise and contract of the two system adjustment range.

5. The Current Debt System Regulating Unilateral Promise System in China

According to relevant provisions in the law obligation of all countries in the world, it has great significance to improving the debt law system in China. Viewing the civil law and common law counties, in order to make up the shortcomings of contract law, unilateral promise system is one of the reasons of single to change mode as the debt happening in the debt law. In the world range, in the increasingly frequent exchange today, China should also comply with this trend, the unilateral promise is used as a business debt reason regulation in the debt law.

From the legislative mode, it is suitable for applying the general regulations establishment of unilateral promise as a separate system, and the contract, tort, unjust enrichment, without parallel for management and contracting fault, which is one of the basic reasons of debt.

Second, the law should clearly define the typical types of unilateral promises. It mainly includes the unilateral promises and reward promise of the sellers for consumers. For the public reward unilateral promise, it may involve into many people’s benefit, so it is necessary to make detailed provisions for the promise withdrawal and implementation.

Third, it should put detailed items fabrication term. Because the social life is complex and diversified, the laws can not timely meet the social request for laws, it will necessarily lead to law backward and law blank existing to some degree, and the unilateral promise system is also like this.

References

[1]Liang Huixing. Chinese proposed draft civil code reason, Law Press, 2005.

[2]Shi Shangkuan. Debt analysis. China Politics and Laws Press, 2000.

[3]Wei Zhenying. Civil Law, Beijing University Press, Higher Education Press, 2000.

[4]Zheng Yubo. Civil code overview[M]China Politics and Laws Press, 2004.

[5]Wang Liping, Li Hongwu. Obligation Laws[M]Shandong University Press, 2008.

[6](America)E. Alan Vance Worth. American contract law. Ge Yusong translated, China Politics and Laws University Press, 2001.

[7]Leng Nina. Study on civil code of obligation system. Dalian Maritime University Master Thesis. 2008.