由“買者自慎”原則的發展談美國合同法的締約前披露義務

“買者自慎”曾是羅馬法上的交易格言，在近代它最早出現於16世紀的英國，意指在交易過程中買方就交易標的的質量自己進行判斷，賣方沒有告知的義務，交易一旦達成，賣方概不負責。隨著自由資本主義的發展，這一原則逐漸成為合同法上的一項主導性原則，支配著法官在處理糾紛時的判斷和價值取向。因為它適應了當時資本主義急速發展的需要，體現了當時大行其道的自由主義哲學思潮。進入20世紀以來，自由主義經濟政策的弊端不斷暴露，形式上的“契約自由”帶來了交易實質上的不平等，其所倡導的自由所給予的僅僅是機會平等，而這種自由不受限制的發展卻導致了結果的不平等，這促使人們反省以往經濟政策和法學理論。在學理的推動下，普通法上出現了一系列的改革，致力於改變以往過分強調自由競爭的交易政策，轉而謀求一種更加講求秩序和公平的商業道德，“買者自慎”也逐漸從其固守的領域裡退了出來，轉而讓位於“誠實信用和公平交易”；越來越多的法院也認為，賣方在交易達成之前要向買方承擔信息披露的義務。本文試圖從政治、經濟和學說理論的背景入手，對上述趨勢作一個簡要的回顧，並初步探討一下由“買者自慎”的演變所反映出的法律原則道德化趨勢，以及在當今社會中法律對於各種社會利益的調整作用。

“Caveat emptor”, an old adage in Roman law, emerged in 16th Century England, means“let the buyer beware”and requires a purchaser to examine and judge for himself. With the boosting of capitalism this adage had turned into a determinate principle in 18th Century and directed the common law judges’judgments on contract for a long period. By the beginning of 20th Century, however, with the emerging of the capitalism’s maladies, social and legal reform movements had targeted all sorts of laisez-faire policies in an effort to replace social’s “law of jungle” approach with a more ordered and cooperative approach. In common law there has been a slow but steady trend away from“caveat emptor” towards an application of higher Standards of good faith, fair dealing, and morality to all contracts and transactions. The doctrine of caveat emptor is being limited and the rule that negotiations must be conducted with openness and in good faith is being affirmed. This article tries to make a discussion on the above movements by reviewing the related political, economic, and theoretical background concisely. In the end the author makes a brief comments on current theories in this field and tentatively probes into the Problems of moral principles’ inroading into law and the law’s function of adjusting various interests of diversified social groups.