German debt law reform

Author: Du Jinglin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-02-01
Features: After more than 20 years of arduous preparation, the effort to recreate the foundation of German civil law has finally come to a successful conclusion. This is marked by the entry into force on January 1, 2002, of the German Law on Modernization of Private Law. This is a major event in German civil law. The fundamental impetus for Germany's reform of its civil law was the significant defects and shortcomings inherent in the German Civil Code (especially in the areas of impediment to performance law, sales law, contract law for work performed, and law of prescriptive periods). These defects and shortcomings have severely hindered and constrained the progress and development of German civil law. However, this major "revolution" in German civil law was delayed for political reasons. What truly brought this reform plan closer to the German public and into their daily lives was the European Union directives (EU-Richtlinien) from the EU headquarters in Brussels. Among these, the EU Directive on Consumer Goods Purchases (verbrauchsgueterkaufrichtlinie) was the first to be transposed into German domestic law. German legislators seized the strong momentum of transposing EU secondary legislation—EU directives—to eliminate a series of significant defects and shortcomings that had long existed in the German Civil Code. Another reason for this major "operation" on German civil law, the most significant and profound since the German Civil Code's inception, is the Europeanization of civil law in EU member states. In this process, it is necessary to harmonize the domestic laws of each member state. Due to the highly intricate nature of the impediment to performance law system in the German Civil Code, it was inevitable to be considered "too refined for the masses," making it unlikely to be competitive on a broader European scale. Therefore, to align with "Europe" and to become a "leading figure" in the imminent Europeanization of civil law, Germany must "simplify" its civil law and make it "modern." Additionally, during the Europeanization of civil law, the transposition of these directives led to the creation of numerous special laws outside the German Civil Code, so numerous that they threatened to "" the core of the German Civil Code. However, this situation is not what people desire. It not only contradicts Germany's inherent legal traditions but also undermines the status of the German Civil Code as the core civil code. Thus, "eradicating" these "weeds" also became a significant driving force behind this reform. Our country is currently drafting a civil code. Since China has adopted German law, tracking the changes in the "mother law"—German civil law—especially its defects and developments, will greatly benefit us and is extremely necessary. For ease of understanding and research, we have provided a full translation of the German Law on Modernization of Private Law in an appendix. This law consists of nine articles. Article 1 amends the German Civil Code; Article 2 amends the Implementation Act for the German Civil Code; Article 3 amends the Law on Claims for Non-Performance; Article 4 amends the Regulations on Information Obligations for Tour Operators; Article 5 amends 38 other laws; Article 6 repeals certain regulations; Article 7 restores the unified administrative regulation hierarchy; Article 8 grants permission for re-publication; and Article 9 specifies provisions on entry into force and expiration.