The Legal Status of Pre-Contractual Liability:Contrasting Responses from German and English Law

締約過失責任的法律定位：德國法與英國法的不同路徑

中國大陸民法典編纂正在如火如荼地開展。本文旨在從比較法之路徑探討在未來之民法典中如何形塑締約過失責任。於契約前階段的制度設計，中國大陸立法者面臨一個長期爭議的理論問題──締約過失的法律定位，具體而言即契約法中誠實信用原則之違反得否直接導致締約過失責任，以及締約過失責任在性質上是否是一種獨立於侵權責任的特別責任類型。本文將德國法與英國法兩個法域作為比較研究的對象，分析二者於上述問題所採之不同路徑，以供中國大陸立法者參考。本文的比較研究展現了德國法與英國法於締約階段責任制度的顯著不同，並試圖揭示隱含在兩個法域強烈對比中的相似的政策考量及制度安排，並以此為基礎，為中國大陸民法典中締約過失責任的定位提出建議。

China has begun a legislative process for its civil code. This thesis focuses on how to shape the pre-contractual liability in the forthcoming Chinese Civil Code from a comparative perspective. In devising the pre-contractual liability, the legislators of China confront a long-running controversy in Chinese Law- the legal status of pre-contractual liability. More precisely, whether the principle of good faith can directly open up liabilities in the pre-contractual phase and whether the pre-contractual liability is independent from the law of tort. The comparative study of this thesis builds a picture of the contrasting responses provided by German and English Law to the questions faced by Chinese legislators. The contrasts between two extraordinary systems serve as a basis of finding solutions to those controversies in Chinese Law. This article at the end offers a proposal to the codification of the Chinese Civil Code.