论不可抗力与情事变更的区分与衔接

On the Distinction and Articulation Between Force Majeure and Change of Circumstances

不论是情事变更这一术语还是不可抗力这一术语,其在使用的过程中往往包含了两层含义,第一层含义是客观事实,第二层含义是法律规则,将这两层含义进行区分是论述其关系的前提。在客观事实层面,应当从因果关系的角度来理解不可抗力事件和情事变更事实之间的关系,不可抗力事件是可能导致情事变更事实的原因之一。在法律规则层面,两者的功能定位截然不同,分别作用于合同运行的不同阶段。情事变更规则作用于原给付阶段,处理是否要继续履行合同的问题;不可抗力规则作用于次给付阶段,处理债务不履行责任的问题。目前,我国的不可抗力规则可以细分为不可抗力解除规则和不可抗力免责规则,但在法定解除制度中独立规定不可抗力解除规则并无重要意义。不可抗力规则的作用应当是责任免除。情事变更规则作用于合同履行阶段,其可以产生变更或解除合同的法律效果,该规则的作用在于使合同关系恢复到均衡状态,而不是免除违约责任。

Both the term change of circumstances and the term force majeure are often used with two meanings,the first being objective facts and the second being legal rules,and distinguishing between these two meanings is a prerequisite for discussing their relationship.At the level of objective facts,the relationship between force majeure events and the fact of change of circumstances should be understood from the perspective of causality,which is one of the possible causes of the fact of change of circumstances.At the level of legal rules,the functions of the two are very different,acting at different stages of the operation of the contract.The rule of change of circumstances acts at the stage of original payment,dealing with the issue of whether to continue to perform the contract;the rule of force majeure acts at the stage of secondary payment,dealing with the issue of liability for non-performance of the debt.At present,China’s force majeure rules can be subdivided into force majeure discharge rules and force majeure exemption rules,but it is not important to provide for force majeure discharge rules independently in the statutory discharge system.The role of the force majeure rule should be the exemption of liability.The rule of change of circumstances is applied to the stage of contract performance,which can produce the legal effect of changing or releasing the contract,and the function of the rule is to restore the contractual relationship to the equilibrium state,not to exempt the liability for breach of contract.