Review of the Preliminary Draft of the Civil Code Amendments on Compensation for Damages

This article introduces and reviews the content of the preliminary draft prepared by the Civil Code Amendment Committee, established in June 2023. The focus is on the amendments related to damages in Chapter 1, Section 2 of Part III of the Civil Code, which deals with the effectiveness of obligations. Specifically, it examines the proposed revisions to Article 390 (Non-performance of Obligations and Damages), Article 393 (Scope of Damages), Article 394 (Method of Compensation for Damages), Article 396 (Comparative Negligence), Article 397 (Special Provisions for Monetary Debt Default), Article 398 (Liquidated Damages), and the newly proposed Article 395-2 (Reimbursement of Expenses). The primary perspective for this review is to ensure the continuity and connection of discussions on the amendment of the Civil Code by comparing it with the 2004 amendment proposals and the 2013 revision draft. Additionally, in order to enhance the efficiency of the discussions, the review will focus on the modifications in the preliminary draft compared to previous amendments, as well as the alternatives proposed by the review committee. This review will be conducted with reference to domestic legal theories, precedents, and foreign legislative examples from a legislative standpoint. From a practical perspective, the most crucial aspect of the current Civil Code revision is to codify established doctrines and case law to prevent further interpretive disputes and clarify legal expressions. Particularly, as in the case of the preliminary draft concerning the regulations on damages, where the abstract nature of the Civil Code provisions has led to the resolution of cases through interpretation, codifying established case law can enhance predictability. However, in the process of codifying case law, it is necessary to consider whether such codification may hinder the development of legal principles through interpretation by fixing the doctrines in a manner that could affect the future evolution of legal theories and case law.