Applicability of price reduction remedy to different types of contract breach: comparative perspective

Abstract

The article deals with the scope of a price reduction remedy, with the objective to ensure that the interests of the debtor in the obligation are taken into account, given that this remedy is pro-creditor in nature. The comparative analysis demonstrates that there are numerous variations on the applicability of price reduction remedy to different types of contract breach. It is concluded that the most reasonable approach in the context of the remedies system developed in the European law is to define the scope of this remedy as the cases of defective performance and defects in quantity. This is in line with the German law and with the provisions of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods 1980 (CISG). This solution has a solid historical and dogmatic foundation. It is substantiated that the concept of the parties’ agreement on the quality, i. e. on the object of the obligation, rather than on the nature of the actions required for its fulfilment, which forms the basis of the price reduction remedy, presents an obstacle to the inclusion of delayed performance within the scope of application of the considered remedy.

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