Dmitry Poldnikov Higher School of Economics, Moscow

*Pacta sunt servanda: Pillar or Crutch of European legal tradition?

Legal principles as important part of European legal tradition

The importance of principles is widely accepted by European academics, legislators and courts.

‘General principles common to the laws of Member States’ of the EU are mentioned in art. 215(2) in the Treaty of Rome.

The European Court in Dineke Algera et al. v. Common Assembly, E.C.R. 39 (1957)

But what are they?

No clear idea of legal principles?Legal definition of a ‘principle’ is missing.

Academic definitions are defined, inter alia, as:

• general models for projecting and applying specific rules (i.e. rules stricto sensu) – Sigrid Jacoby

• a high standard other rules should comply with, means to correct and support the ruling in a particular case – Humberto Avila

Pacta sunt servanda as legal principle of Civil Law

One of the best known legal principles in civil law since the Middle Ages till present days.

It matches all the criteria of a legal principle.

It can be discovered in all major codifications on the European continent.

But does it have clear and constant meaning?

Different meaning behind common wording? a) No exact legal wording.b) Contradictory popular sayings (adages) in Europe: e.g. “Si prende il bue per le corna e l’uomo con la parola” but “Nessuno è schiavo della sua parola” or “Promettre et tenir sont deux”. (credits to Andreas Wacke)c) Different requirements for the contract from jurisdiction to jurisdiction (meaning of consensus, formation procedure, requirements and meaning of cause etc.). d) Variations of national court practices.e) Growing number of exemptions (e.g. clausula rebus sic stantibus, consumer protection rules).f) Different purposes for the same wording: from overcoming pacta nuda in Roman law to keeping-up security in transactions

New Wine into Old Wineskins?I. ‘Pacta sunt servanda’ was coined to overcome the Roman rule (ex nuda pacta actio non nascitur) in Canon Law (Thomas Aquinas: “mendacium est si quis non impleat quod promisit” Summa Theol. II–II. qu. 110, a. 3)

II. Pactum had different meaning in Medieval Ius Commune (XII-XVII c.)

III. Ius Commune as cradle for new contractual theory and general notion of contract

*Transformatio legalis

contractuspactumpactio

conventionegotium

actumstipulatio

etc.

Corpus Iuris

methodus

studium generale

*Glossatores Bononienses

1. actio ius

pactum

cont

ract

us

cont

ract

us2.

3. Vestimentum pactorum

Contractual Theory of Glossators

*Ius canonicum

Pacta sunt servanda

«…mendacium est si quis non impleat quod promisit... mendacium ob hoc indetur esse peccatum quia per ipsum homo decipit proximum». (Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theol. II – II. qu. 110, art. 3)

Testamentum, Canones, Decretum

promissio non impleta = mendacium = peccatum

condictio ex canone

*Lex mercatoria

«Domus mercatorum debet esse domus veritatis et aequitatis» (Angelus Aretinus (1418–1461). Consilia, cons. 219).

consuetudines mercatorum

Aequitas mercatoria Promissio obligatoria

*Customary lawconsuetudines gentium, gute Sitten, coutumes, costumbres…

«Ein Mann – ein Wort»«Swer icht borget oder gelobt, der sal iz gelden, und swaz her tut, daz sal he stete halden» (Sachsenspiegel, Buch 1, Art. 7).

Vertragstreue

«Toutes convenances font a tenir, et pour ce dit on: Convenance vaint loi» (Ph. de Beaumanoir (1247- 1296), Coutumes de Beauvaisis. Cap. 34. Art. 999. P.1).

*HumanismusСorpus iuris civilis

Ex pacta nuda actio non oritur. (Andrea Alciatus (1492 - 1550). Comm. lib. 5, cap. 3. tom. 4. col. 117.

«…de conventione serio pacta et conclusa... et oritur efficax actio... et ita in utroque foro seculari et ecclesiastico...» (Charles Dumoulin (1500 - 1566). Comm. in D.45.1. n. 42. tom. 4. col. 138).

*Usus modernus Pandectarum

Mores hodierni, Forum, altdeutsches Recht

Promissio non impleta = peccatum condictio ex canone• pacta nuda condictio ex canone

ex moribusex consuetudine

• stupulatio = pactum nudum?

terminus generalespecies pactorum

• pactum

• systema pactorum novum? Ius naturale…

*Ius naturale novum

Ratio scripta Ratio naturalisS ys tem a no vum

p e rson ae re s

m e m b ra co nv e n tio n is sp e c ies

co nv e ntion es q u as i-con ven tion es

Сonventiones d e lic ta

Johannes Althusius (1557-1638)consensus = voluntas (!)

pacta nuda = pacta legitima = contractus innominatus

* Hugo Grotius

(1583–1645)

• De jure belli ac pacis libri tres (1625)• Inleiding tot de hollandsche

Rechtsgeleerdheid (1619)

Doctrina promissionis

a ss e rt io

p o llic ita tio

p ro m iss io

V o lun tas

grad

us

= contractus

*Consensual Contract

Samuel von Pufendorf (1632 – 1694)

Pacta sunt servanda

C o n tra c tus P a c tu m in spe c ie

P a ctum = consensus

Fragmentary Notion of Contract

*Summa doctrinarum

Christian Thomasius (1655-1728)

Grotius + Pufendorf + usus modernus

promissio + acceptatio = consensus duorum

G ra tu itum O n e ro sus

P rin c ip a le A c ce sso rium

In te r v ivos D e succe ss io ne

P a ctum

General Notion of Contract (pactum)

*Spread of General Notion

Christian Wolff (1679-1754)

Ius naturale, Christian Thomasius

pactum der Vertrag

contractus der Kontrakt

acti o

de

i ure

na t

ura l

e

=

=

Voluntas – causa obligationis sufficiens

*Ius naturale Franciae

Jean Domat(1625-1696)

Robert Joseph Pothier (1699-1772)

«Les loix civiles dans leurs ordre naturel» (1689)

«Les conventions sont les engagements qui se forment par le consentement mutuel de deux ou plusieurs personnes qui se font entr’eux une loi d’executer ce qu’ils promettent… Les conventions s’accomplissent par le consentement mutuel donné et arrêté réciproquement...» (Titre I, 1, 1).

«Traité des obligations» (1761)«Une convention ou un pacte (car ce sont termes synonymes) est le consentement de deux ou plusieurs personnes, ou pour former entr’elles quelque engagement, ou pour en résoudre un précédent, ou pour le modifier… Le contrat renferme le concours des volontés de deux personnes, dont l’une promet quelque chose à l’autre, et l’autre accepte la promesse qui lui est faite» (Traité. Nr. 3-4).

*First CodificationsCodex Maximilianeus Bavaricus civilis (1756)

«Conventiones... werden zwar nach Römischen Rechte in Pacta et Contractus getheilt... aber heut zu Tage allen Pactis die nemliche Kraft und Würkung, wie einem Contract beygelegt ist, so fallt auch obige Abtheilung samt dem Unterschied zwischen denen sogenannten Pactis nudis, legitimis, vestitis vel adjectis hinweg» (CMC IV, 1, § 3).

Codex Theresianus (1753–1766) «Ein Vertrag ist eine mit zweier oder mehrerer Personen Vereinigung aufgerichtete Handlung, woraus Einer dem Anderen etwas zu leisten verpflichtet wird…» (III, II, § 5, n. 32, n. 45).

«…so kommt durch den Übereinstimmenden Willen beyder Theile ein Vertrag zu Stande». § 861 ABGB

Das Allgemeine Landrecht (1794) «Durch die Annahme eines gültigen Versprechens wird der Vertrag geschlossen» (ALR. I, 5, § 79). «Die Erklärung, einem Andern ein Recht übertragen, oder eine Verbindlichkeit gegen denselben übernehmen zu wollen, heißt Versprechen» (ALR. I, 5, § 2).

«Le contrat est une convention par laquelle une ou plusieurs personnes s'obligent envers une ou plusieurs autres, à donner, à faire ou à ne pas faire quelque chose» (art. 1101).

Code Civil (1804)

Pacta sunt servanda and SecurityAcademic community makes efforts to renovate the principles to meet the needs of the united Europe.

Emerging new principle of contractual security?• Principles of European Contract Law (PECL)• Principes directeurs by Association Henri Capitant

(2005) (art. 0:201 “A contract which is lawfully concluded has binding force between the parties”)

• Draft Common Frame of Reference for EU (2009) (Introduction §§ 17-20, art. II-1:103: The principle of binding force)