论婚约及婚约的法律适用

Discussion on the Engagement and the Legal Application of the Engagement

摘要: 在现代社会，婚约不再被法律赋予强制执行力，但是婚约依然存在多项社会意义。婚约虽不产生一般意义上的身份法效力，但是在社会习俗中婚约关系仍得到普遍承认。我国婚姻立法回避婚约的理由并不充分，为了延续传统习俗、消除法规范与法社会之间的落差以及维护司法统一，有必要将婚约纳入立法。婚约以缔结婚姻为目的，兼有身份关系和财产关系发生，是一种特殊的准身份契约，但其并非结婚的预约。为了保护婚姻自由，婚约不可诉性请履行，亦不得附加违约金，但单方面违背婚约需要承担赔偿责任。基于民法总则的统摄功能，也为了应对家庭法供给不足的问题，在处理婚约纠纷时有必要考虑在符合家庭法的价值时，适用民法总则相应规定。《民法典》第464条第2款为婚约适用合同编提供了具体路径，但是在具体参照适用合同编规则时，需要避免过于工具主义的倾向，维护家庭法的价值和伦理。

Abstract: In modern society, the engagement is no longer legally enforceable, but it still has a number of social significance. Although the engagement does not have the effect of identity law in the general sense, it is still generally recognized in social society. The reasons for avoiding the engagement in our marriage legislation are not sufficient, and it is necessary to incorporate the engagement into the legislation in order to continue the traditional customs, eliminate the gap between the legal norms and the legal society, and to maintain the unity of the judiciary. Engagement for the purpose of concluding a marriage, both identity relations and property relations occur, is a special quasiidentity contract, but it is not a precontract for marriage. In order to protect the freedom of marriage, engagement is not subject to appeal and no liquidated damages may be attached to it, but unilateral breach of the engagement entails liability. Based on the unifying function of the General Principles of the Civil Code, and in order to cope with the problem of insufficient supply of family law, it is necessary to consider applying the corresponding provisions of the General Principles of the Civil Code when dealing with disputes over engagements, as long as they are in line with the values of family law. Article 464, paragraph 2, of the “Civil Code” provides a specific path for the application of the contractual provisions to engagements, but in ap-plying the rules of the contractual provisions, it is necessary to avoid an overly instrumentalist ten-dency and to safeguard the values and ethics of family law.