Conţinutul principal al reformei dreptului comun al contractelor în Codul civil francez
The main content of the reform of common law contracts in the French Civil Code

Summary/Abstract: Following the previous study enshrined to the origins, history and overall objectives of the reform of the law of obligations in the French Civil Code, this time, the author describes us the main content of the reform of the common contract law, which has been accomplished under the same Ordinance no. 131 of 10 February 2016. At the very beginning of the analysis, it is described the new classification of the sources of obligations, promoted by the doctrine, in legal acts and legal deeds. It is obvious that, in the category of legal acts, the main place and of the utmost importance is occupied by the contract, the legal regime of which is established in Book III, Title III (“Sources of obligations”), Subtitle I (“Contract”), art. 1101–1231-7 of the French Civil Code. Above all, the legal definition of the contract is reproduced and commented, being enunciated in art. 1101, and it is deemed to be clear, modern and comprehensive, followed by a necessary rearrangement of those three principles governing the common legal regime of all contracts: contractual freedom, good faith and binding effect of the contract. Among those items of legislative novelty nature, which make up the common contract law at present, as they are legislatively enshrined by the reform into question, the following should be noted: certain modern classifications of contracts, which were not included in the previous texts in the matter of the Civil Code (consensual, solemn and real contracts; negotiated contracts and pre-formulated standard contracts; framework contracts and implementation or enforcement contracts etc.); the rules regarding the conclusion of contracts, specifically as regards their negotiation, offer and acceptance, the determination of the time and place of the conclusion of the contract, the preparatory contracts (promissory agreement and preferential pact); the new rules applicable to the validity conditions of the contract, especially those relating to the defects in consent and to the body of the contract, in which context the French legislator expressly enshrined the information obligation, as the abusive clauses have been defined and their legal fate has been established; the reestablishment of the consensual principle and the re-enunciation of the rules applicable to the contract form; the clarification of the legal regime of nullity and sunset clause of contract; the re-enunciation and reorganization of the rules applicable to the construction and interpretation of contracts and the determination of some interpretation criteria specific to the pre-formulated standard contracts; the formulation of the rules governing the effects of contracts entered into between parties and towards third parties in clearer terms and the regulation of enforceability in contracts, of simulation, of stipulation for the benefit of third parties and of the contract to stand surety. And, finally, the so-called sanctions or remedies of the non-enforcement of contracts are enunciated and regulated, some of them being legislatively enshrined for the first time, such as the anticipated plea of non-enforcement and the unilateral rescission or by notice of the contract; moreover, the criminal clause also benefits from a modern and coherent regulation, as its judicial mutability is legislatively restated when insignificant or obviously excessive. The author’s endeavour ends with certain conclusive considerations, being confident that new interpretations are going to emerge in the near future relating to the legal texts by which the recent reform of the common contract law has been accomplished in the French Civil Code.

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