履行不能與合同終止——以《民法典》第580條第2款為中心

Impossibility of Performance and the Termination of Contract: On the Para. 2 of Art. 580 of the Civil Code

《民法典》第580條第2款新規定的“履行不能情形下的合同終止條款”是合同編部分最為重要的修訂，曾引發高度關注與爭議。該條文通過賦予當事人請求司法機關終止存在終局性履行不能的合同，進而實現打破合同僵局的功能。本條的引入可填補立法的漏洞，且不會構成對現有合同法體系的顛覆或破壞。雙務合同的風險負擔及履行抗辯規則均無法有效解決合同僵局問題。在法律適用上，“致使不能實現合同目的”這一構成要件旨在防止可能出現的濫用；未來應考慮通過司法解釋或指導性案例將本條擴張適用至金錢債務所引發的合同僵局；第580條第2款在適用上將可產生某種“外溢效應”。

"The new provision in paragraph 2 of the article 580 of the Civil Code, which is the clause on termination of a contract in the case of the impossibility of performance, is the most important change in the contract part, and therefore it gets a lot of attention. This provision realizes the function of breaking the contract deadlock by giving the parties a request to the judicial organ to terminate the contract in which there is ultimate impossibility of performance. The introduction of this article would fill the legal loopholes and would not disrupt the existing contract law system. The risk - assuming rule and the defense of performance rule can't effectively solve the contract deadlock. The introduction of the rule on termination of long-term contract for a compelling reason in German law will bring a great impact on the existing contract law system, and lead to the uncertainty of judicial application. In the application of the law, the constituent element of ''causing the failure to achieve the purpose of the contract'' is intended to prevent possible abuse. In the future, consideration should be given to extending the application of this article to contractual deadlocks arising from monetary obligation through judicial interpretation or guiding cases. Consequently, there will be a ''spillover effect'' with regard to the application of the provision."