关于违约金数额调整规则的探讨——以《合同法》第一百一十四条为中心

Discussion on Liquidated Damages amount adjustment rules——According to Contract law 114-centric

根据《合同法》第一百一十四条规定,可以通过裁判方式调整违约金数额。这种规定的逻辑前提有混淆概念之嫌,导致的结果是思维混沌。明确界定违约金的性质是建立违约金调整规则的基础,违约金分为补偿性违约金和惩罚性违约金。《合同法》第一百一十四条所规定的违约金性质不仅具有补偿性,也具有惩罚性。当补偿性违约金不足以弥补损失时,还应支付赔偿金,故无增加违约金数额的必要;当惩罚性违约金高于实际损失时,一般没有调低的必要。应首先适用意思自治规则,其次才能适用对权利进行适当限制的例外规定。

According to the provisions of Article 114 of the Contract Law,the amount of penal sum can be adjusted by judgment. However,the logical premise of this provision garbles the concept of law,the result is nothing but logical tangle. Clearly defined the character of penal sum is undoubtedly the foundation to establish the rule of adjustment of penal sum. Penal sum can be divided into two kinds ： compensatory penal sum and punitive penal sum. The provision of Article 114 of the Contract Law has both the two characters. When the compensatory penal sum is insufficient to cover the losses, compensation should be pay, thus there is no need to increase the amount of penal sum. When the punitive penal sum is higher than the actual loss, there is no need to decrease the amount of penal sum. It means, the rules for autonomy should be appliance primarily before the application of the exceptional rules that appropriately restraint the right.