German Debt Law Reform (Latest Developments in the German Civil Code)

Author: Du Jinglin, Lu Chen (editors)
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. The symbol of this achievement is the entry into force of the "German Law on Modernization of Obligation Law" on January 1, 2002. This is a major event in German civil law. The fundamental impetus for Germany's reform of its obligation law was the significant defects and shortcomings in the "German Civil Code" itself (especially in the areas of impediment to performance law, sales law, construction contract law, and prescription law). These defects and shortcomings have severely hindered and restricted the progress and development of German civil law. However, due to political reasons, this major "revolution" in German civil law has been delayed for a long time. What truly brought this reform plan closer to the German public and into their daily lives was the EU directives (EU-Richtlinien) from the EU headquarters in Brussels. Among them, 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—the 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" in German civil law, which has been the most significant and profound since the "German Civil Code" was enacted, is the Europeanization of the civil laws of EU member states. In this process, it is necessary to harmonize the domestic laws of each member state. Due to the highly "refined" system of impediment to performance law in the "German Civil Code," it is inevitable that it would be "too high for the masses," and it is likely to lack competitiveness on a European scale. Therefore, to align with "Europe" and to become a "leader" in the imminent process of civil law Europeanization, Germany must "simplify" its civil law and make it "modern." Additionally, in the process of civil law Europeanization, numerous special laws have been created outside the "German Civil Code" to transpose these directives. The sheer number of these laws is so vast that they threaten to "" the core of the "German Civil Code." However, this situation is not what people desire. It not only contradicts Germany's inherent legal tradition but also undermines the status of the "German Civil Code" as the core civil code. Therefore, "eradicating" these "weeds" has also become a significant driving force behind this reform. Our country is currently in the process of drafting a civil code. Since China has adopted German law, tracking the changes in the "mother law"—German civil law—especially studying its defects and developments, will greatly benefit us and is also extremely necessary. For the sake of better understanding and research, we have provided a full translation of the "German Law on Modernization of Obligation 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 "German Law on Inaction Actions"; Article 4 amends the "German Code on Information Obligations for Tour Operators"; Article 5 amends 38 other laws; Article 6 repeals regulations; Article 7 restores the unified administrative regulation hierarchy; Article 8 reissues permits; and Article 9 specifies the effective and invalidation provisions.