论国际商事合同的要约生效时间

On Time When the Offer of lnternationaI Commercial Contract Is Effective

世界各国关于要约生效制度的差异包含着各国确认要约生效时间的不同。对于外国关于要约生效时间方面的做法,我国合同法论著通常认为"大陆法系和英美法系均采用到达主义",这一观点未能准确反映国外关于要约生效制度的全貌。作为大陆法系典型代表的法国对要约的生效时间不是采用到达主义,而英美法系国家通常是以受要约人作出承诺的时间作为要约的生效时间,以及在要约有效期的起算方面,美国法院具有的"到达主义"特点和大陆法系以及国际商事合同统一法所具有的"发信主义"的特点等。

The differences of offer effectiveness of each country have included the differences of time when offer is effective.There is a popular view in the works of contract law in our country about the time when offer is effective in other countries.It is that both the civil law system and the common law system adopt the principle of receipt.This article points out that the view is defective.This article expounds the practice of offer effectiveness of some representative country.For example,France,the typical representative country of the civil law system,does not adopt the principle of receipt;and the countries of the common law system take the time when the offeree sends the acceptance as the time when the offer is effective in common.And on the calculating the period of offer effectiveness,American court adopts the principle of receipt,but the civil law system and the unit international commercial contract law adopt the principle of sending.