未成年人订立合同之效力限定——保障弱者权益与维护交易安全间的衡平

On the Validity Restriction of Contracts Concluded by Minors:the Balance between Protection of Weak Party and Maintenance of Transaction Security

各国民事立法对未成年人订立合同的效力限定反映了立法者在保障弱者权益与维护交易安全间的考量。我国现行《合同法》的规则设计权衡失当,它重在使未成年人免于承担交易风险和免受损害,却忽视了其缔约自主权;而对成年相对方的利益保护缺位则给市场交易秩序埋下了安全隐患。对此,应细化对未成年人一方提供的特殊保护,兼顾其缔约自由;同时在法定条件下保障相对方利益,维护交易安全。

The validity restriction on contracts concluded by minors reflects the legislators＇ considerations in the protection of the interests of the weak group and the maintenance of transaction security. The rules of our current ＂contract law＂ handled improperly on this problem, which focused on the protection of minors from transaction risk and damage, ignored the autonomy of the contracting parties. On the other hand, the absence of the protection for adult phase＇s interests leaved potential security hazard. In the process of future law formulation and revision, we should refine the special protection provided for minor person, and take account of their freedom of contracting. At the same time, we should also offer consideration to adult phase while the statutory conditions satisfied, which aims at maintaining transaction security.