CONTRACT BREACH: LEGAL CONSEQUENCES AND THEIR QUALIFICATION

Abstract

The author of the article has analyzed the current situation of civil legislation and civil doctrine in regard to legal consequences of contract breach and their qualification. It has been noted that a party to the contract, in case of subjective rights’ violation, has the right to apply the means of their legal protection provided by law and/or the terms of a contract, which constitute two groups: a) methods of judicial and extrajudicial protection of civil rights and interests of such a party and b) measures of civil liability of a compensatory nature, whose purpose is to eliminate or minimize the adverse property consequences of contractual obligation’s breach. Attention has been focused on the fact that termination of a contract as a method of protecting violated subjective rights and legitimate interests of contractual legal relations’ participants: a) is aimed at restoring the violated balance of interests of the parties and eliminating the negative consequences of non-fulfilment (improper fulfilment) of contractual obligations; b) is an extreme, but necessary method of protecting subjective civil rights used in cases when the further existence of contractual relationships loses its meaning. The author has persisted in own opinion that civil liability as a component of the mechanism for protecting the rights of a party to a contract is one of the key means of ensuring the proper execution of contractual obligations and protecting subjective civil rights of their participants. The essence of such liability is to apply adverse property consequences provided by law or a contract to a debtor who has committed violation of a contractual obligation, as a result of illegal and reckless conduct. Civil liability in this regard performs both compensatory, as well as preventive and stimulating functions by ensuring the stability of civil turnover and the appropriate level of contractual discipline.