The College hosted a lecture by Ms. Peng Fengzhi, former President of a judicial branch of Taiwan Region and former Justice of the Constitutional Court on the afternoon of 19 September.
The lecture, entitled ‘Comparative Perspectives on the Doctrine of Change of Circumstances across the Taiwan Strait’, was conducted in a hybrid format on Haidian campus and online. The session was moderated by Professor Fei Anling of the College, with commentary from Professor Dai Mengyong, Deputy Dean of CUPL’s School of Civil, Commercial and Economic Law, Professor Stefano Porcelli from the University of Brescia, Italy, and Dr. Yang Ziran of the College.
Peng offered an in-depth comparative analysis of Article 533 of the Civil Code of mainland China and Article 227-2(1) of the Civil Code of Taiwan region. She outlined the respective conditions under which the doctrine of change of circumstances applies in both jurisdictions and examined their legal structures and underlying rationales. Drawing on the legislative background in Taiwan region and relevant provisions in the German Civil Code, she further analysed how the principle is to be properly applied in Taiwan region’s legal context, shedding light on its connection and divergence from the corresponding provisions in mainland China’s Civil Code.
In the panel discussion, Dai addressed interpretative issues surrounding the contractual foundation in civil law, such as donative intent, parental gifts for marriage, and the subjective and objective understanding at the time of contract formation. He also explored key differences in the application of the doctrine of change of circumstances between Taiwan region and mainland China. Porcelli provided insights into the historical development of contract law, the centrality of intent in modern legal systems, and the role of good faith and contractual provisions in resolving contemporary legal challenges. Yang contributed a common law perspective through case-based analysis, discussing the significance of case precedent, unforeseen contingencies in contract performance, and the evolving principles guiding contract modification in Anglo-American law.
In her concluding remarks, Fei expressed her sincere thanks to Justice Peng and the discussants for their thought-provoking contributions, as well as to all attendees for their active participation. The lecture concluded in a collegial and engaging atmosphere, marking another successful event in the ‘Sino-Italian Legal Forum’ lecture series.
