The Doctrine of Change of Circumstances in Chinese Contract Law

Abstract

Under the doctrine of change of circumstances, the disadvantaged party may request for renegotiation of the contract and/or petition to the courts for relief where a change taken place subsequent to the formation of the contract has rendered the contractual obligation so excessively onerous. In China, there had been doubts over whether such doctrine existed or not, as nothing about it was mentioned in the Contract Law of China enacted in 1999. However, following the issuance by the Supreme People’s Court of the second judicial interpretation concerning the application of the Contract Law of China on 24 April 2009, the doctrine of change of circumstances is formally recognized. This article aims to examine the development and the essential elements of the doctrine in Chinese contract law. In addition, the conceptual differences between change of circumstances and force majeure will be discussed.