The Abolition of the Concept of “Causa” in French Civil Law

Abstract

Causa is a subjective motive that determines the content of the obligation or material interest, which encourages the party to the trade to enter into an obligation taking on the associated burdens. In the countries of continental (mainland) Europe that belong to the Romano-Germanic law system, such as Germany, France, and Italy, the goal (objective) of the parties to the trade, causa, is legally signifi cant. In the theory of the Civil law of the Romano-Germanic system, there is a general principle – any obligation arises for some purpose, which is called the basis of obligation. Causa is an individual interest that meets the requirements of the legal system. France was one of the last European countries that did not recognise the contingency theory as a basis for regulating the binding force of a contract. In practice, the courts have faced criticism of the concept of causation from both doctrine and law enforcement practice. In 2016, there was a signifi cant reform of the French law of obligations. Legal science, undeservedly, did not attach due importance to one of the most noticeable innovations within the framework of the mentioned reform – the abolition of the concept of “causa” (reason, basis) of the contract, which until recently was one of the most original features of the French law and originated from Roman law, which was fi xed in the Napoleonic Code. In this article, the theoretical provisions for the abolition of the concept of causa in French civil law, within the framework of the reform of the Civil Code, were investigated, and the corresponding conclusions were drawn.