The article reveals the essence of two simultaneous processes: socialization and humanization of civil law. These processes are also reflected in the transformation of the institution of civil law. Based on the analysis of legislation, jurisprudence and the doctrine, certain tendencies of the development of civil liability for breaches of obligations can be identified. First, the introduction of the principle of good faith into civil law has had a significant impact on the legal rules governing civil liability for breaches of obligations. The paper justifies the conclusion that the evolution of the principle of good faith of the participants of civil circulation has led to the development of justice and proportionality foundations as basic criteria for civil liability. Second, the author describes the search for an effective model of responsibility combining standards of both fault-based liability ensuring fair retribution and faultless liability aimed at providing fair compensation and distribution of damages for non-performance of a contract. Third, one should take into account the foreseeability of the consequences in the construction of civil liability and subjectivization of causation. A peculiarity of the development of causal relationships in contractual relations is that the circumstances influencing their development pass through the consciousness of the parties to the contract, and, therefore, they can foresee the legal consequences with a certain degree of probability, as well as the evolution of the causal relationship due to the circumstances envisaged by the contract. Fourth, the paper highlights the compensatory nature of civil liability measures - protection of the creditor's interest in performance (performance interest). Fifth, the development of discretionary foundations of civil liability. This tendency is manifested in the fact that the parties are entitled to either limit or amend the conditions of such liability within the limits established by the law. Sixth, one of the tendencies of the development of the doctrine of civil liability amounts to widening the scope of non-consensual liability and strengthening an interaction between contractual and tortious liability. A widened scope of non-consensual liability can be illustrated by instances of the reception of pre-contractual liability by Russian Civil Law (culpa in contrahendo) and attempts made by judges to award net economic losses. Based on the study conducted, it may be concluded that the reception of a number of legal structures of European Law and their adjustment to the peculiarities of Russian civil circulation are intended to create a new concept of civil law in general, and the institution of civil liability in particular based on the principles of justice, proportionality and integrity.