Esta dissertação tem por objetivo analisar o contrato preliminar, a partir das diversas funções que ele cumpre no processo de formação do negócio jurídico. Em especial, examina-se a figura do contrato preliminar que é menos completo do que o contrato definitivo, estabelecendo apenas os aspectos essenciais do negócio prometido e deixando em aberto outros pontos que devem ser preenchidos no intervalo entre os dois negócios. O contrato preliminar incompleto, como se lhe designa aqui, constitui uma etapa no processo de formação progressiva do contrato, atendendo a interesses dignos de tutela conforme o ordenamento jurídico. Para tanto, o trabalho está dividido em quatro capítulos, além da introdução e da conclusão. Na primeira parte, apresentam-se os principais interesses práticos que estão por trás da cisão do negócio em duas etapas (no contrato preliminar e no contrato definitivo). Vê-se que o contrato preliminar não é uma figura inútil, um desdobramento desnecessário do processo de formação do negócio. Na segunda parte, são delineados os contornos do contrato preliminar, mediante o exame de sua causa e de seu objeto, além das figuras que se lhe assemelham. Demonstra-se que, embora não se confunda com o negócio definitivo, o contrato preliminar já deve definir a causa do negócio prometido, que serve para identificá-lo. Na terceira parte, atenta-se para o chamado princípio da equiparação, que determina que, em regra, o contrato preliminar siga a mesma disciplina prevista para o negócio definitivo. Tal princípio deve ser, todavia, excepcionado, quando a própria cisão do processo de formação do negócio no preliminar e no definitivo serve para afastar alguma regra que valerá apenas para o segundo negócio. Nesse ponto, demonstra-se que o princípio da equiparação não se aplica integralmente no que se refere ao objeto do contrato definitivo, que não precisa estar previsto, exaustivamente, no contrato preliminar. Revela-se, aí, a admissibilidade da figura do contrato preliminar incompleto. Por fim, na última parte, examina-se a execução específica do preliminar, destacando-se, em particular, o cabimento desse remédio também para o chamado contrato preliminar incompleto, quando, então, caberá ao juiz integrá-lo mediante as regras de integração previstas no ordenamento jurídico. / The objective of this dissertation is to analyze preliminary contracts in the light of the various functions they perform in the formation of a legal transaction. In particular, the paper examines preliminary contracts which are less complete than the definitive contracts they precede and which set out merely the essential aspects of the promised transaction, leaving other points to be decided upon in the interval between the two contracts. Such contracts, referred to in this paper as incomplete preliminary contracts, constitute a distinct stage in the process of progressive formation of the legal transaction and address interests which are capable, in our legal system, of giving rise to a claim for judicial relief. This study is divided into four chapters (in addition to the introduction and conclusion). The first part sets out the principal practical interests behind the splitting of a legal transaction into two distinct parts (the preliminary contract and the definitive contract) and demonstrates that the preliminary contract is by no means an unnecessary and useless offshoot of the formation of a legal transaction. The second part sets out an overview of preliminary contracts in terms of their raison dêtre and their objects and draws a parallel with other similar legal instruments. This part seeks to show that despite being distinct from the definitive contract, the preliminary contract defines the raison dêtre of the promised transaction (i.e. the reason for contracting) and thus serves to define (classify) the contract. In the third part, attention is drawn to the so-called principle of equivalence (principio de equiparação) according to which a preliminary contract must, as a general rule, comply with the same legal rules applicable to the definitive agreement. An exception needs to be made, however, when the actual separation of the process of formation of the legal transaction into preliminary and definitive stages leads to a given rule being applicable solely to the definitive contract. The author demonstrates that, in such cases, the principle of equivalence does not apply in full to the objects of the definitive contract and said objects do not therefore need to be the subject of exhaustive provision in the preliminary contract. This therefore reveals that an incomplete preliminary contract is legally permissible. Finally, in the closing part of the paper, the issue of specific performance of the preliminary contract is examined. Particular emphasis is given to the applicability of this legal remedy to incomplete preliminary agreements and to the powers vested in the judge to complete (i.e. fill in the gaps) in the preliminary contract, in accordance with the applicable rules as to integration of contracts

Esta dissertação tem por objetivo analisar o contrato preliminar, a partir das diversas funções que ele cumpre no processo de formação do negócio jurídico. Em especial, examina-se a figura do contrato preliminar que é menos completo do que o contrato definitivo, estabelecendo apenas os aspectos essenciais do negócio prometido e deixando em aberto outros pontos que devem ser preenchidos no intervalo entre os dois negócios. O contrato preliminar incompleto, como se lhe designa aqui, constitui uma etapa no processo de formação progressiva do contrato, atendendo a interesses dignos de tutela conforme o ordenamento jurídico. Para tanto, o trabalho está dividido em quatro capítulos, além da introdução e da conclusão. Na primeira parte, apresentam-se os principais interesses práticos que estão por trás da cisão do negócio em duas etapas (no contrato preliminar e no contrato definitivo). Vê-se que o contrato preliminar não é uma figura inútil, um desdobramento desnecessário do processo de formação do negócio. Na segunda parte, são delineados os contornos do contrato preliminar, mediante o exame de sua causa e de seu objeto, além das figuras que se lhe assemelham. Demonstra-se que, embora não se confunda com o negócio definitivo, o contrato preliminar já deve definir a causa do negócio prometido, que serve para identificá-lo. Na terceira parte, atenta-se para o chamado princípio da equiparação, que determina que, em regra, o contrato preliminar siga a mesma disciplina prevista para o negócio definitivo. Tal princípio deve ser, todavia, excepcionado, quando a própria cisão do processo de formação do negócio no preliminar e no definitivo serve para afastar alguma regra que valerá apenas para o segundo negócio. Nesse ponto, demonstra-se que o princípio da equiparação não se aplica integralmente no que se refere ao objeto do contrato definitivo, que não precisa estar previsto, exaustivamente, no contrato preliminar. Revela-se, aí, a admissibilidade da figura do contrato preliminar incompleto. Por fim, na última parte, examina-se a execução específica do preliminar, destacando-se, em particular, o cabimento desse remédio também para o chamado contrato preliminar incompleto, quando, então, caberá ao juiz integrá-lo mediante as regras de integração previstas no ordenamento jurídico. / The objective of this dissertation is to analyze preliminary contracts in the light of the various functions they perform in the formation of a legal transaction. In particular, the paper examines preliminary contracts which are less complete than the definitive contracts they precede and which set out merely the essential aspects of the promised transaction, leaving other points to be decided upon in the interval between the two contracts. Such contracts, referred to in this paper as incomplete preliminary contracts, constitute a distinct stage in the process of progressive formation of the legal transaction and address interests which are capable, in our legal system, of giving rise to a claim for judicial relief. This study is divided into four chapters (in addition to the introduction and conclusion). The first part sets out the principal practical interests behind the splitting of a legal transaction into two distinct parts (the preliminary contract and the definitive contract) and demonstrates that the preliminary contract is by no means an unnecessary and useless offshoot of the formation of a legal transaction. The second part sets out an overview of preliminary contracts in terms of their raison dêtre and their objects and draws a parallel with other similar legal instruments. This part seeks to show that despite being distinct from the definitive contract, the preliminary contract defines the raison dêtre of the promised transaction (i.e. the reason for contracting) and thus serves to define (classify) the contract. In the third part, attention is drawn to the so-called principle of equivalence (principio de equiparação) according to which a preliminary contract must, as a general rule, comply with the same legal rules applicable to the definitive agreement. An exception needs to be made, however, when the actual separation of the process of formation of the legal transaction into preliminary and definitive stages leads to a given rule being applicable solely to the definitive contract. The author demonstrates that, in such cases, the principle of equivalence does not apply in full to the objects of the definitive contract and said objects do not therefore need to be the subject of exhaustive provision in the preliminary contract. This therefore reveals that an incomplete preliminary contract is legally permissible. Finally, in the closing part of the paper, the issue of specific performance of the preliminary contract is examined. Particular emphasis is given to the applicability of this legal remedy to incomplete preliminary agreements and to the powers vested in the judge to complete (i.e. fill in the gaps) in the preliminary contract, in accordance with the applicable rules as to integration of contracts

Electronic contracts in the new technological age and electronic commerce have brought about world-wide legal uncertainty. When compared to the traditional paper-based method of writing and signing, the question has arisen whether contracts concluded by electronic means should be recognised as valid and enforceable agreements in terms of the functional equivalence approach. This study will examine the law regulating e-commerce from a South African perspective in contrast to international trends and e-commerce law from the perspective of the United States. The research investigates various aspects of contract formation such as time and place, validity of electronic agreements, electronic signatures, attribution of electronic data messages and signatures, automated transaction as well as select aspects of e-jurisdiction from a South African and United States viewpoint. / Mercantile Law / LLM

La responsabilité précontractuelle dérive de la transposition du devoir d'agir de bonne foi qui pèse sur les contractants au stade de l'exécution du contrat à celle de sa formation. En Colombie, cette transposition s'est faite en 1971 par voie législative dans le Code du commerce alors qu‟en France elle s'est produite grâce à la jurisprudence. Toutefois, le caractère répressif de la responsabilité au stade de la formation du contrat est encore conçu, au mieux, comme une simple réminiscence de la responsabilité délictuelle et, au pire, comme une sanction marginale à la responsabilité contractuelle. L'intérêt qui existe dans cette recherche en droit comparé consiste, en effet, à trouver le critère qui donne à la responsabilité précontractuelle son autonomie, sa spécificité. Ainsi, une observation attentive nous a permis de découvrir que ceux qui persistent à nier l‟existence de la responsabilité précontractuelle en la rattachant à la délictuelle se sont penchés sur un critère chronologique emprunté à l'ancienne notion du contrat : le moment de sa conclusion. En effet, d'après eux, l'absence de contrat justifie que l'on applique le principe général de responsabilité délictuelle. Pourtant, la comparaison des régimes colombien et français montre la fragilité de ce raisonnement face aux nombreuses victimes des vices du consentement qui, de plus en plus, préfèrent l'indemnisation du dommage à la nullité du contrat. Une fragilité qui se révèle d‟autant plus évidente face aux dommages-intérêts qui sont accordés par les juges dans des contrats bel et bien formés, mais qui ne correspondent pas aux fautes dans l'exécution des obligations qui en découlent, mais aux fautes au stade de sa formation. En essence, l'identification des points de convergence ou de divergence de ces droits au stade de la formation du contrat, et leur comparaison par rapport aux mutations du régime de la bonne foi semblent, en effet, contribuer au renforcement de la responsabilité précontractuelle en tant qu'institution autonome. / Pre-contractual liability is derived from the transfer of the duty of the contracting parties to act in good faith from the contract performance phase to the contract formation phase. This transfer was carried out in Colombia by legislative action through the 1971 Commerce Code and in France, by jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the repressive nature of liability during contract formation is still interpreted as simply a reminiscence of delictual liability, at best, and as a marginal sanction for contractual liability, at worst. The goal of this study in comparative law is to find a criterion that confers autonomy and specificity to pre-contractual liability. Therefore, careful analysis by the author led to the discovery that those who insist on denying the existence of pre-contractual liability by linking it to delictual liability have based their argument on a chronological perspective taken from the old notion of contract, i.e., the time of execution. Furthermore, in their view, the absence of a contract justifies the application of the non-contractual liability regime. However, a comparison of the Colombian and French systems on this matter shows the fragility of the argument when faced with the large number of victims of defects of consent who, day after day, prefer indemnification of damages instead of a ruling of nullity of contract. This fragility is much more evident when judges order the indemnification of damages in well-formed contracts, due not to faults related to failure to meet any of the obligations that are derived from them, but to faults originating in the contract formation phase. In essence, finding common ground and discrepancies between the Colombian and French law systems regarding the contract formation phase and comparing them with the mutations of the good faith regime seem to actually contribute to consolidating pre-contractual liability as an autonomous institution.

Electronic commerce from a private international law perspective The objective of this thesis is to study how the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) is applied in the field of electronic commerce and compare it to the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts in regard to the prevailing tendency to remove legal barriers to electronic commerce. The comparison is made in terms of geographic and material scope, forms of contract and how contracts are formed. An analysis of conditions and obstacles to the application of the CISG within the field of electronic commerce represents the core of the work. The thesis is based on the assumption that the Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts is an instrument which helps to overcome identified obstacles. The thesis formulates a conclusion on overcoming just one of the obstacles on the basis of the principle of technological neutrality, and it further demonstrates that the requirement of being in written form may remain an obstacle. As such, the thesis is a response to the question of why the Convention is signed and ratified by a relatively small number of states.

Electronic contracts in the new technological age and electronic commerce have brought about world-wide legal uncertainty. When compared to the traditional paper-based method of writing and signing, the question has arisen whether contracts concluded by electronic means should be recognised as valid and enforceable agreements in terms of the functional equivalence approach. This study will examine the law regulating e-commerce from a South African perspective in contrast to international trends and e-commerce law from the perspective of the United States. The research investigates various aspects of contract formation such as time and place, validity of electronic agreements, electronic signatures, attribution of electronic data messages and signatures, automated transaction as well as select aspects of e-jurisdiction from a South African and United States viewpoint. / Mercantile Law / LLM

Electronic contracts in the new technological age and electronic commerce have brought about world-wide legal uncertainty. When compared to the traditional paper-based method of writing and signing, the question has arisen whether contracts concluded by electronic means should be recognised as valid and enforceable agreements in terms of the functional equivalence approach. This study will examine the law regulating e-commerce from a South African perspective in contrast to international trends and e-commerce law from the perspective of the United States. The research investigates various aspects of contract formation such as time and place, validity of electronic agreements, electronic signatures, attribution of electronic data messages and signatures, automated transaction as well as select aspects of e-jurisdiction from a South African and United States viewpoint. / Mercantile Law / LLM