公平责任“依法”适用之解释论——以《民法典》第1186条为中心

On the Interpretation of the Application of Equitable Liability"in accordance with the Law"——Centered on Article 1186 of Civil Code

我国《民法典》第1186条规定,适用公平责任须“依照法律的规定”。基于“一般规定+具体条款”的学理主张,这一修改形成了新的规则模式,即公平责任适用要满足“双重条件”:“行为人和受害人对损害结果的发生都没有过错”,再加上符合“具体条款”的规定。在“具体条款”与公平责任构成要件不兼容的情况下,这种模式会导致对第1186条效力的否定;即使在能够兼容的情况下,因该具体条款不具排他性,亦无法抑制公平责任被滥用。从根源上看,造成公平责任扩张的主要原因是构成要件模糊性以及既有构成要件未获严格遵守,将其适用限定于“具体条款”的做法,不仅无助于抑制公平责任扩张,还会引发公平责任适用的逻辑困境。“依照法律的规定”应被视为对公平责任法律效果的限定,即调整法官的裁量空间,使之参照法律确立的损害赔偿项目及标准确定分担损失的数额。

Article 1186 of the Civil Code sets forth that the application of equitable liability must be made in accordance with a legal provision.Based on the theoretical proposition of"the general provision and a specific clause",a new rule model is established,namely,"dual conditions"should be met for the application of equitable liability:neither the actor nor the victim is at fault for the occurrence of the harmful consequence,and the"specific clause"is satisfied.When the"specific clause"is not compatible with the constitutive elements of the equitable liability,such model will lead to the negation of the effectiveness of Article 1186.Although they are compatible,because such specific clause is not exclusive,it is not impossible to restrain the abuse of the equitable liability.In view of the root cause,the main reason for the expansion of the equitable liability is the ambiguity of its constituent elements and the failure to strictly observe the existing constituent elements,thus restricting its application to"specific clauses"does not help restrain the expansion of the equitable liability but leads to the logical dilemma.The expression of"in accordance with the law"should be regarded as the limitation on the legal effect of the equitable liability,namely,the adjustment of discretion of judges to let them determine the amount of shared loss by reference to compensation items and standards established by the law.