The New German Law of Obligations

THE NEW GERMAN LAW OF OBLIGATIONS00-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 26/10/05 06: 40 AM Page i 00-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 26/10/05 06: 40 AM Page ii The New German Law ofObligationsHistorical and Comparative PerspectivesREINHARD ZIMMERMANN100-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 26/10/05 06: 40 AM Page iii 3Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DPOxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,and education by publishing worldwide inOxford New YorkAuckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong KarachiKuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City NairobiNew Delhi Shanghai Taipei TorontoWith offices inArgentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France GreeceGuatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal SingaporeSouth Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine VietnamOxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Pressin the UK and in certain other countriesPublished in the United Statesby Oxford University Press Inc., New York© R. Zimmermann, 2005The moral rights of the author have been assertedDatabase right Oxford University Press (maker)Crown copyright material is reproduced under Class LicenceNumber C01P0000148 with the permission of OPSIand the Queen’s Printer for ScotlandFirst published 2005All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press,or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriatereprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproductionoutside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department,Oxford University Press, at the address aboveYou must not circulate this book in any other binding or coverand you must impose the same condition on any acquirerBritish Library Cataloguing in Publication DataData availableLibrary of Congress Cataloging in Publication DataZimmermann, Reinhard, 1952 Oct. 10–The new German law of obligations : historical and comparative perspectives / Reinhard Zimmermann.p. cm.Includes index.ISBN-13: 978–0–19–929137–3ISBN-10: 0–19–929137–31. Contracts—Germany.2. Obligations (Law)—Germany.Germany.4. Performance (Law)—Germany.KK1640.Z56 2005346.4302—dc223. Sales—I. Title.2005024540Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, IndiaPrinted in Great Britainon acid-free paper by Biddles Ltd., King’s LynnISBN 0–19–929137–3978–0–19–929137–31 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 200-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 28/10/05 10: 02 AM Page iv Summary of ContentsT able of ContentsAbbreviationsviixiiiIntroduction11. The German Civil Code and the Development of Private Law in Germany52. Remedies for Non-performance, Viewed against the Backgroundof the Principles of European Contract Law393. The Development of Liability for Non-conformityin German Sales Law794. The New German Law of Prescription and Chapter 14 of the Principles of European Contract Law1225. Consumer Contract Law and General Contract Law159Index22900-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 26/10/05 06: 40 AM Page v 00-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 26/10/05 06: 40 AM Page vi T able of ContentsAbbreviationsxiiiIntroduction11. The German Civil Code and the Development of Private Law inGermanyI. The Codification Movement in EuropeII. The German Civil Code as a Late Fruit of theCodification MovementIII. The Programme of ‘Historical Legal Science’IV. ‘Historical Legal Science’ and CodificationV. Legal Unity by Way of LegislationVI. The BGB as a ‘Prison Cell’?VII. The Reaction of the CourtsVIII. Unity of the System of Private Law?IX. The Resilience of the BGBX. The Development of Private Law under the CodeXI. Criticism of the BGBXII. The Modernization of the Law of ObligationsXIII. The Europeanization of Private Law5568101114172022242730352. Remedies for Non-performance, Viewed against theBackground of the Principles of European Contract LawI. The Path to the New Rules1. The old law, Abschlußberichtand ‘Discussion Draft’2. From the ‘Discussion Draft’ to the new lawII. Specific Performance and Exclusion of the Right toSpecific Performance1. Impossibility of performance2. ‘Practical Impossibility’ and ‘Economic Impossibility’3. The problem of ‘subjective impossibility’4. ‘Moral impossibility’III. Damages1. Conceptual foundations2. Damages in lieu of performance39393941434345474849495200-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 28/10/05 12: 09 PM Page vii a) Impossibility of performanceb) Delay of performance and deficient performancec) Infringement of ancillary duties which do not affect theperformance as such543. Damages for delay of performancea) Mora debitoris 56b) Excursus: other consequences of mora debitoris4. ‘Simple’ damages58IV. Claim for the Substitute in Cases of ImpossibilityV. Expenses Incurred in the Expectation of ReceivingPerformanceVI. Initial Impediments to Performance 1. Validity of the contract2. Essential elements of the liability regime3. Initial impossibility and the rules on mistakeVII. Termination1. Doctrinal and historical background to the new law2. Automatic release of the creditor in cases of impossibilityof performance on the part of the debtor3. Requirements for, and mechanics of, termination4. Comparison72VIII. Other RemediesIX. Concluding Observations525356576061626264656666687075763. The Development of Liability for Non-conformity inGerman Sales LawI. Introduction1. The old approach2. The Consumer Sales DirectiveII. Liability for Latent Defects: The Old BGB and its HistoricalBackground1. Roman law822. Ius commune833. The sale of unascertained goodsa) Roman law84b) Tensions85c) Controversy and compromiseIII. Problem Areas1. Supplementary performance2. Damages923. Extinctive prescription4. Other precarious borderlines7979798082848789909395T able of Contentsviii00-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 28/10/05 10: 03 AM Page viii IV. Reform1. Characteristic features2. The basic structureV. Supplementary Performance1. Repair or replacement2. Details1013. Open questions4. Second chance 104VI. Secondary RightsVII. TerminationVIII. Damages1. Damages in lieu of performancea) The concept explainedb) When can they be claimed?2. Simple damages3. Damages for delay of performance4. Appendix: claim for the substitute in cases of impossibilityIX. Reduction of the Purchase PriceX. Unsolved ProblemsXI. Conclusion96969899991021061071081091091101111121131131161174. The New German Law of Prescription and Chapter 14 ofthe Principles of European Contract LawI. IntroductionII. The Development of the Law of Prescription1. The reform process in Germany2. The UNCITRAL Convention, the Principles of EuropeanContract Law and the UNIDROIT Principles3. A common frameworkIII. Subjective or Objective SystemIV. The Thirty-year Prescription PeriodV. Liability for Non-conformity1. The law of sale1332. Contracts for work136VI. Commencement of Prescription1. Implementing the subjective system2. Reasonable discoverability; obligations to refrain fromdoing something1403. Due date1414. Other peculiarities of the German regulation122122124124126128129131133138138142T able of Contentsix00-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 26/10/05 06: 40 AM Page ix VII. Renewal of the Period of PrescriptionVIII. Suspension and Postponement of Expiry1. Judicial and other proceedings2. Impediment beyond the creditor’s control3. Negotiations1464. Close personal ties and incapacity5. Sexual abuse1506. Deceased’s estate; right to refuse performanceIX. Effects of PrescriptionX. Modification by AgreementXI. Another ReformXII. Conclusion1431441441451471521531541551575. Consumer Contract Law and General Contract LawI. IntroductionII. Freedom, Equality, and Social Responsibility at the Timeof the Original BGB1. Protecting the weaker party2. Economic background3. The drops of social oil4. The Act concerning Instalment Sales5. Early ‘doorstep’ legislation6. Industrial workers, domestic servants, railway engines7. Usury169III. The Rise of Modern Consumer Legislation1. The first period: until the end of the 1970sa) Origins171b) Instalment sales, distance teaching, package travelc) Standard terms of businessaa) A ‘Page of glory’ in the history of private law adjudicationbb) Consumer protection?d) Which ‘model of society’?2. The European Community takes overa) A promising field of activityb) The beginning: doorstep selling, product liability,consumer credit179c) Changing gear: developments up to the Consumer Sales Directive182aa) Package travel and unfair terms in consumer contracts 182bb) Timeshare agreements and cross-border credit transfers 183cc) Distance contracts 184159159160160162163165167168171171172173173175177178178T able of Contentsx00-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 28/10/05 10: 03 AM Page x dd) Late payments, electronic signatures, e-commerceee) Consumer sales186IV. Incorporation: The Law as it Stands Today1. Definitions, unsolicited performances, standard termsof business1872. Particular forms of marketing3. Right of revocation (general rules)4. Sale of consumer goods5. Credit transactions1926. Package travel194V. General Comments1. Consumer contract law and the EC2. Being caught by surprise3. A newly gained transparency?4. The new provisions and the system of the BGB5. ‘Throw-away’ legislation6. Excessive implementationVI. The Decision to Incorporate: An Evaluation1. General background205a) Freedom of contract and self-determinationb) A combination of criteriac) Close family members of the main debtor as sureties207d) Excessive interest ratese) Consumer protection2. The main devices for protecting consumersa) Duties of informationb) Right of revocationaa) ‘Being caught off-guard’bb) Other policy considerationscc) Timeshare agreementsdd) Instalment supply contracts, distance contracts, distance teaching contractsc) Unilaterally mandatory rules of lawaa) Specific protective rulesbb) Policing types of contractd) The concept of ‘consumer’3. Possible objections2244. Building site or museum?185187189189191194194196197198200203205205207209210210211213213215216217218218219222226Index229T able of Contentsxi00-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 28/10/05 10: 03 AM Page xi 00-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 26/10/05 06: 40 AM Page xii AbbreviationsABGBAbzGAGBGAllgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (General Civil Code, Austria)Abzahlungsgesetz(Act concerning Instalment Sales, Germany)Gesetz zur Regelung des Rechts der Allgemeinen Geschäf tsbedingungen(Standard Terms of Business Act, Germany)Anhang(Appendix)Article(s)Auflage(edition)Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (Civil Code, Germany)Bundesgerichtshof(Federal Supreme Court, Germany)Entscheidungen des Bundesgerichtshof s in Zivilsachen (Decisions of theFederal Supreme Court in private law matters, Germany)Bundesverf assungsgericht(Federal Constitutional Court, Germany)Entscheidungen des Bundesverf assungsgerichts(Decisions of the FederalConstitutional Court, Germany)Burgerlijk W etboek(Civil Code, Netherlands)CodexCaputUnited Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale ofGoodsEuropean Commission/Commission documentDigestaDisputatioEuropean Court ReportsEuropean CommunityEuropean Court of Justiceeditor(s), edition(s)editionEuropean Economic CommunityEinf ührungsgesetz zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch (Introductory Law tothe Civil Code, Germany)Einführung is another German term for introductionEinleitung(introduction)European UnionAnh.Art(s).Aufl.BGBBGHBGHZBVerfGBVerfGEBWC.Cap.CISGCOMD.Disp.ECRECECJed(s).edn.EECEGBGBEinf.Einl.EU00-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 26/10/05 06: 40 AM Page xiii FernUSGGai.GGHausTWG Gesetz über den Widerruf von Haustürgeschäf ten und ähnlichenGeschäf ten (Doorstep Selling Act, Germany)HGBHandelsgesetzbuch (Commercial Code, Germany)HKKHistorisch-kritischer Kommentar zum BGB(Historical Commentary tothe BGB, Germany)Iav.IavolenusLib.Liber(book)n(n).note(s)no(s).number(s)OJOfficial Journal of the European CommunitiesOLGOberlandesgericht (Regional Appeal Court, Germany)ORObligationenrecht(Code on the Law of Obligations, Switzerland)Pap.PapinianusPaul.PaulusPECLPrinciples of European Contract LawPICCUnidroit Principles of International Commercial Contractspr.principium (beginning)PrALRPreußisches Allgemeines Landrecht(Prussian Code)RGReichsgericht(Imperial Supreme Court, Germany)RGZEntscheidungen des Reichsgerichts in Zivilsachen (Decisions of theImperial Supreme Court in private law matters, Germany)Tit.Titulustransl.translatedUCCUniform Commercial CodeUklaGUnterlassungsklagengesetz(Injunctions Act, Germany)ULISUniform Law for the International Sale of GoodsUlp.UlpianusUNUnited NationsVerbrKrGV erbraucherkreditgesetz(Consumer Credit Act, Germany)vol(s).volume(s)Vorbem.V orbemerkung(preliminary remark)Fernunterrichtsschutzgesetz(Distance Teaching Act, Germany)GaiusGrundgesetz(Basic Law, Germany)Abbreviationsxiv00-Zimmer-Prelims. qxd 26/10/05 06: 40 AM Page xiv Page 1 of 8PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 201 3.All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of amonograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy). Subscriber: DukeUniversity; date: 1 2 March 201 3IntroductionThe New German Law of Obligations: Historical and ComparativePerspectivesReinhard ZimmermannPrint publication date: 2005Print ISBN-13: 9780199291373Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: Mar-12DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291373.001.0001IntroductionReinhard ZimmermannDOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291373.003.0001Abstract and KeywordsOn January 1, 2000, the German Civil Code (BGB) celebrated its 100thanniversary, proving to be remarkably resilient throughout a centurymarked by catastrophic upheavals and a succession of radically differentpolitical regimes. Two years later, however, the most sweeping individualreform of the Code took effect. This was the Modernization of the Law ofObligations Act, which was introduced in response to the need to implementthe European Consumer Sales Directive. But it went far beyond what wasrequired by the European Community. The German law of obligations wasalso reformed. Doctrinally, the most remarkable feature of the revised BGBis the new regime concerning liability for non-performance in general, andfor non-conformity in sales law in particular. The new law was aimed tostreamline, or harmonize, general contract law and consumer contract law.This book discusses prescription (or limitation periods), remedies for non-performance (or breach of duty), liability for non-conformity, and consumercontract law in Germany.Keywords:   Germany, reform, German Civil Code, law of obligations, liability, sales law,Consumer Sales Directive, consumer contract law, non-performance, non-conformityOn 1 January 2000 the German Civil Code (BGB) became one hundredyears old. It had been remarkably resilient throughout a century marked bycatastrophic upheavals and a succession of fundamentally different politicalregimes. Two years later, however, on 1 January 2002, the most sweepingindividual reform ever to have affected the Code entered into force. This Page 2 of 8PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 201 3.All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of amonograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy). Subscriber: DukeUniversity; date: 1 2 March 201 3Introductionwas the Modernization of the Law of Obligations Act.1 It had been triggeredby the need to implement the European Consumer Sales Directive.2 But itwent far beyond what was required by the European Community. The thenMinister of Justice had decided to use the tailwind from Brussels finally toimplement an ambitious reform project dating back to the late 1970s.3 Ithad led to the appointment of a Commission charged with the reform ofthe German law of obligations which had duly prepared a report as well asdraft legislation.4 That draft was used as a basis for a Discussion Draft of aModernization of the German Law of Obligations Act which was published inSeptember 2000.5 Vehement criticism raised against the Discussion Draftled to substantial revision but came too late to abort the reform project, orto confine it to the amendments required by the Consumer Sales Directive.The most important aspect of the Act of 2002, from the point of view oflegal practice, is the fundamental reform of the German law of (liberative)prescription. Doctrinally the most remarkable feature of the revised BGB isthe new regime concerning liability for nonperformance in general, and fornon-conformity in sales law in particular. More than by any other componentof the reform process, however, the face of the BGB has been changed bythe incorporation of a number of special statutes aimed at the protection ofconsumers. The draftsmen of the new law have thus made (p. 2 ) an effort tostreamline, or harmonize, general contract law and consumer contract law.These, then, are the four topics covered in Chapters 2–5 of the present book:prescription (or, to use a term more familiar to English lawyers: limitationperiods),6 remedies for non-performance (or, to use the term chosen inGerman law: breach of duty),7 liability for non-conformity, and consumercontract law. In all these cases either a historical or comparative perspectivehas been adopted in order to analyse, and assess, the new rules of Germanlaw. Other aspects of the reform (credit transactions, contracts for workto be done) will be referred to incidentally. The new set of rules dealingwith the restitution of benefits after termination for breach of contract willbe discussed elsewhere.8 As is immediately obvious from this survey, theGerman reform legislation, though sailing under the title Modernizationof the Law of Obligations Act, has very largely been confined to the lawof contract. It is only in one respect that it significantly affects the otherbranches of the law of obligations: prescription. But even here the title ofthe reform legislation does not convey an accurate picture of its scope.Prescription is dealt with in the General Part of the BGB (as opposed to theGeneral Part of the law of obligations), and it therefore also covers claimsarising in the areas of property law, family law, and the law of succession.9While the wisdom of this decision may be questioned,10 the wide scope of Page 3 of 8PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 201 3.All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of amonograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy). Subscriber: DukeUniversity; date: 1 2 March 201 3Introductionapplication accorded to the law of prescription still remains an establishedfeature of German private law. Use of the phrase ‘modernization of the lawof obligations’ can be explained only in the light of the earlier reform projectwhich was indeed supposed to cover, apart from a much wider range ofmatters within contract law, the law of extracontractual liability, unjustifiedenrichment, and negotiorum gestio.The essays collected in this volume are based on a number of lecturesdelivered over the past three years: the second CMS Cameron McKennaLecture at the University of Aberdeen in July 2002 (remedies for non-performance);11 the tenth John M. Kelly Memorial Lecture at UniversityCollege, Dublin, in November 2003 (liability for non-conformity); a lectureat a congress on the third part of the Principles of European Contract Law inLleida in May 2004 (prescription); and the J.A.C. Thomas Memorial Lectureat University (p. 3 ) College, London, in February 2005. These lectures haveall originally been published elsewhere.12 For the purpose of this volumethey have been revised, updated and harmonized. They are preceded bya chapter entitled ‘The German Civil Code and the Development of PrivateLaw in Germany’ which attempts to place the recent reform legislation inits historical context. Parts of that chapter are based on my contribution tothe Essays in Honour of Bernard Rudden which was written in early 2001,at a time when the reform had not yet been enacted.13 I am very gratefulto Michael Joachim Bonell (Rome), Elspeth Reid (Edinburgh), Paul O'Connor(Dublin), Antoni Vaquer Aloy (Lleida), Jessica Hughes (London), and JohnLouth (Oxford) for their permission to use the earlier publications in orderto prepare the present volume. I am equally grateful to Ben Steinbrück andAngelika Owen (both Hamburg) for editorial and typing assistance.There is one aspect of the reform legislation that should be mentioned, evenif it will not be discussed in the chapters that follow. This is the incorporationinto the text of the BGB of a number of doctrines that had previously cometo be recognized praeter legem; in particular: culpa in contrahendo (§311 II BGB), change of circumstances (Störung der Geschäftsgrundlage:§ 313 BGB), the possibility of terminating, for good reason, contracts forthe performance of a recurring obligation (§ 314 BGB), the duty to haveregard to the other party's rights and interests which may result fromthe content of an obligation (§ 241 II BGB); and the existence, in somecases, of such duties on the part of third parties (§ 311 III BGB).14 Little haschanged in this respect but for the fact that a statutory home has beenprovided for these doctrines. The German Government wanted the livinglaw to be reflected in the wording of the code.15 Most commentaries on Page 4 of 8PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 201 3.All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of amonograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy). Subscriber: DukeUniversity; date: 1 2 March 201 3Introductionthe BGB have, therefore, just moved the respective exposition from oneplace to another in their new editions: from § 242 to § 313 in the case ofchange of circumstances and from § 242 to § 241 in the case of the (p. 4 )duties to have regard to the other party's rights and interests,16 or from§ 276 to § 311 in the case of culpa in contrahendo. More than anythingelse this demonstrates that, just as the BGB in its original form, the reformlegislation is intimately related to past and contemporary case law and legalscholarship. It is ‘no more than a moment in the development, more tangible,certainly, than a ripple in the stream, but, none the less, merely a ripplein the stream’.17 Also in its new form, the German Civil Code, therefore,continues to be a characteristic manifestation of German legal culture.18At the same time, the reform in general has moved German contract lawconsiderably closer to European thinking patterns; the then Minister ofJustice even regarded the ‘modernization’ of the BGB as ‘a milestone on thepath towards a European Civil Code’.19 It thus appears to be appropriate,when analysing the reform, not only to adopt a historical perspective andemphasize the elements of change and continuity, but also to take textssuch as the Principles of European Contract Law20 as points of reference for acomparative assessment.Notes:(1) Gesetz zur Modernisierung des Schuldrechts of 26 November 2001,Bundesgesetzblatt 2001 I, 3138. As a result, the BGB was re-promulgated on2 January 2002: Bundesgesetzblatt 2002 I, 42.(2) Directive 1999/44 EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25May 1999 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associatedguarantees, OJ L 171/99, at 12, easily accessible in Oliver Radley-Gardner,Hugh Beale, Reinhard Zimmermann and Reiner Schulze (eds.), FundamentalTexts on European Private Law (2003), 107 ff.(3) Hertha Däubler-Gmelin, ‘Die Entscheidung für die so genannte GrosseLösung bei der Schuldrechtsreform’, [2001] Neue Juristische Wochenschrift2281 ff.(4) Bundesminister der Justiz (ed.), Abschlussbericht der Kommission zurÜberarbeitung des Schuldrechts (1992).(5) Easily accessible now in Claus-Wilhelm Canaris (ed.),Schuldrechtsmodernisierung 2002 (2002), 3 ff. Page 5 of 8PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 201 3.All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of amonograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy). Subscriber: DukeUniversity; date: 1 2 March 201 3Introduction(6) On the terminology, see infra pp. 127 f.(7) See infra, Chapter 2, text following n. 58 and n. 217.(58) The point is also emphasized by Schlechtriem, (1993) 1 Zeitschrift fürEuropäisches Privatrecht, 229; cf. also Faust, in Huber and Faust (n. 18) 74;Vollkommer (n. 55) 123 ff.(18) For a general discussion cf. also Daniel Zimmer, ‘Das neue Rechtder Leistungsstörungen’, [2002] Neue Juristische Wochenschrift 1 ff.;Hansjörg Otto, ‘Die Grundstrukturen des neuen Leistungsstörungsrechts’,[2002] Jura 1 ff.; Roland Schwarze, ‘Unmöglichkeit, Unvermögen undähnliche Leistungshindernisse im neuen Leistungsstörungsrecht’, [2002]Jura 73 ff.; Sonja Meier, ‘Neues Leistungsstörungsrecht’, [2002] Jura118 ff., 187 ff.; Canaris, ‘Einführung’ (n. 17) IX ff.; Barbara Dauner-Lieb, ‘Das Leistungsstörungsrecht im Überblick’, in Barbara Dauner-Lieb, Thomas Heidel, Manfred Lepa and Gerhard Ring (eds.), Das neueSchuldrecht (2002), 64 ff.; Stephan Lorenz and Thomas Riehm, Lehrbuchzum neuen Schuldrecht (2002), 83 ff.; Peter Huber and Florian Faust,Schuldrechtsmodernisierung (2002), 7 ff.; Claus-Wilhelm Canaris, ‘DieNeuregelung des Leistungsstörungs- und des Kaufrechts: Grundstrukturenund Problemschwerpunkte’, in Egon Lorenz (ed.), Karlsruher Forum2002: Schuldrechtsmodernisierung (2003), 54 ff.; Dieter Medicus, ‘DieLeistungsstörungen im neuen Schuldrecht’, [2003] Juristische Schulung521 ff. The first commentary, rule by rule, was Barbara Dauner-Lieb,Thomas Heidel, Manfred Lepa and Gerhard Ring (eds.), AnwaltkommentarSchuldrecht (2002); in the meantime many of the standard commentarieson the BGB have appeared in post-reform editions; the most comprehensiveof these are Wolfgang Ernst, in Münchener Kommentar zum BürgerlichenGesetzbuch, 4th edn., vol. IIa (2003) and Hansjörg Otto, in J. von StaudingersKommentar zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch, revised edition (2004).(17) Cf. also Claus-Wilhelm Canaris, ‘Das allgemeine Leistungsstörungsrechtim Schuldrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz’, [2001] Zeitschrift fürRechtspolitik 329 ff.; idem, ‘Einführung’, in Claus-Wilhelm Canaris (ed.),Schuldrechtsmodernisierung 2002 (2002), IX ff.(55) Faust, in Huber and Faust (n. 18) 75 ff.; Lorenz and Riehm (n. 18) 92 ff.;Anwaltkommentar/Dauner-Lieb et al. (n. 18) § 276, n. 18; Stefan Grundmann,in Münchener Kommentar zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch, 4th edn., vol. IIa(2003) § 276, nn. 173 ff.; Gregor Vollkommer, ‘Haftungserweiterung durch Page 6 of 8PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 201 3.All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of amonograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy). Subscriber: DukeUniversity; date: 1 2 March 201 3IntroductionNeufassung des § 276 BGB?’, in Dauner-Lieb, Konzen and Schmidt (n. 12)126 ff.; Staudinger/Löwisch (n. 23) § 276, nn. 143 ff.(12) In particular, there has been what Barbara Dauner-Liebhas dubbed a ‘renaissance’ of the concept of impossiblity (‘DasSchuldrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz in Wissenschaft und Praxis—Versucheiner Bestandsaufnahme’, in Barbara Dauner-Lieb, Horst Konzen andKarsten Schmidt (eds.), Das neue Schuldrecht in der Praxis (2003), 15ff.) which the reformers had originally set out to dethrone. According toIngeborg Schwenzer, ‘Rechtsbehelfe und Rückabwicklungsmodelle im CISG,in den European and UNIDROIT Principles, im Gandolfi-Entwurf und imdeutschen Schuldrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz’, in Peter Schlechtriem (ed.),Wandlungen des Schuldrechts (2002), 39, the opportunity of raising Germanlaw to an internationally acceptable level has thus been wasted. Equallycritical is Peter Schlechtriem, ‘Internationales Einheitliches Kaufrecht undneues Schuldrecht’, in Dauner-Lieb, Konzen and Schmidt (as above) 73, whorefers to a ‘self-referential legal doctrine’ having become law.(23) Concerning temporary impossibility, see Arnd Arnold, ‘Dievorübergehende Unmöglichkeit nach der Schuldrechtsreform’, [2002]Juristenzeitung 866 ff.; Münchener Kommentar/Ernst (n. 18) § 275, nn. 132ff.; Manfred Löwisch, in J. von Staudingers Kommentar zum BürgerlichenGesetzbuch, revised edition (2004), § 275, nn. 42 ff.; Thomas Lobinger, DieGrenzen rechtsgeschäftlicher Leistungspflichten (2004), 304 ff.; WolfgangDäubler, ‘Die vorübergehende Unmöglichkeit der Leistung’, in Festschriftfür Andreas Heldrich (2005), 55 ff.; Dieter Medicus, ‘Bemerkungen zurvorübergehenden Unmöglichkeit’, in Festschrift für Andreas Heldrich (2005),347 ff.(217) Zimmer, [2002] Neue Juristische Wochenschrift 12.(8) ‘Restitution after Termination for Breach of Contract: German Law afterthe Reform of 2002’, in Andrew Burrows and Alan Rodger (eds.), Mapping theLaw: Essays in Memory of Peter Birks, forthcoming.(9) §§ 194 ff. BGB.(10) Infra pp. 131 ff.(11) An earlier version of the lecture was presented at the University ofRome (La Sapienza) and has appeared in the series of Saggi, conferenze e Page 7 of 8PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 201 3.All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of amonograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy). Subscriber: DukeUniversity; date: 1 2 March 201 3Introductionseminari of the Centro di studi e ricerche di diritto comparato e straniero,edited by Michael Joachim Bonell.(12) (2002) 6 Edinburgh Law Review 271 ff.; John Kelly Memorial LectureSeries, No. 10 (2004); Antoni Vaquer Aloy (ed.), La Tercera Parte de losPrincipios de Derecho Contractual Europeo (2005), 451 ff.; [2005] CurrentLegal Problems 58.(13) ‘Modernizing the German Law of Obligations?’, in Peter Birks andArianna Pretto (eds.), Themes in Comparative Law in Honour of BernardRudden (2002), 265 ff. A German version of Chapter 1 of the presentvolume can be found in Mathias Schmoeckel, Joachim Rückert and ReinhardZimmermann (eds.), Historisch-kritischer Kommentar zum BGB, vol. I (2003),1 ff.(14) § 311 III BGB implies the existence of such duties also vis-à-vis thirdparties; whether the provision can thus be regarded as a statutory legal basisfor the contract with protective effect vis-à-vis third parties is disputed; see,for example, Peter Gottwald, in Münchener Kommentar zum BürgerlichenGesetzbuch, 4th edn., vol. IIa (2003), § 328, n. 101; Hans-Peter Haferkamp,‘Der Vertrag mit Schutzwirkung für Dritte nach der Schuldrechtsreform—einAuslaufmodell?’, in Barbara Dauner-Lieb, Horst Konzen and Karsten Schmidt(eds.), Das neue Schuldrecht in der Praxis (2003), 171 ff.(15) For a critical assessment of this intention, see Barbara Dauner-Lieb,‘Kodifikation und Richterrecht’, in Wolfgang Ernst and Reinhard Zimmermann(eds.), Zivilrechtswissenschaft und Schuldrechtsreform (2001), 305 ff.(16) This has resulted in a reduction of the size of commentary to § 242in Münchener Kommentar by about 50 per cent: see Günter H. Roth, inMünchener Kommentar zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch, 4th edn., vol. II(2001), § 242 (233 pages) as opposed to Günter H. Roth, in MünchenerKommentar zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch, 4th edn., vol. IIa (2003), § 242(116 pages). This observation confirms that a general provision such as §242 BGB (good faith) is often needed only for a transitory phase until a ruleis sufficiently well established to stand on its own legs; see Simon Whittakerand Reinhard Zimmermann, ‘Good faith in European contract law: surveyingthe legal landscape’, in Reinhard Zimmermann and Simon Whittaker (eds.),Good Faith in European Contract Law (2000), 30 ff. Page 8 of 8PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copy...