| 摘要: | 情事變更原則在一般民事訴訟實務過程中，經常會被訴訟雙方引為訴訟之標的或抗辯之主張，亦即訴訟當事人常會提出以情事變更原則作為請求或抗辯之理由。因此，有關情事變更原則適用之爭議，在訴訟實務案例中所佔甚多，特別是在工程履約糾紛或爭議案件中，因工期展延或營建材料物價上漲、變更設計等事由，常與情事變更原則之適用相牽連。然而，法院訴訟實務判決中對於情事變更原則是否適用，亦即其成立要件是否該當，各級法院間之審認見解似乎尚未臻一致。亦即，同樣或類似之案例事實，實務判決時會因審判者不同的認知，而產生相異其趣之不同結果。
因此，本研究除回顧情事變更原則理論之源起外，並針對該理論在英美法系及日本法系之起源與發展作一探索。除瞭解該原則之意義及其理論發展之沿革外，進而，就我國及中國大陸地區目前情事變更原則之法律訂定以及適用現況，以瞭解該原則在兩岸工程履約糾紛上所能處理以及適用之問題類型。其次，本研究將蒐整兩岸地區近年來一般訴訟及工程糾紛案件法院實務判決結果，盡可能以量化的數據分析，來探究情事變更原則的適用率。並由統計數據的變化來瞭解該原則在實務判決中之適用情形，藉以觀察與比較情事變更原則，在兩岸工程實務判決之適用。
The clause of "Change of Circumstances" in Civil Law is often exercised for purpose of entering a Plea or request of Objection when the circumstances of either party are changed to a situation that could not have been anticipated by either party. Therefore, whether or not it is applicable to exercise the clause of "Change of Circumstances" has always been a controversy in the case of individual lawsuits, especially in disputes regarding the honoring of Infrastructure Project Agreements, such as schedule deferral, material pricing raise, design changes, and so forth.
However, the rulings by district or appellate courts in applying the Principal of change of circumstances to civil cases show that the opinions of judges have not been consistent in setting rules for the adoption of this Principal. Under such situation, the proceedings reveal an interesting phenomenon that the judicial decisions may be quite different from, or even contrary to, the decisions taken in the same or similar cases.
This research investigates the origin of the ‘Principle of Change of Circumstances’ and explores its origins in the development in the Common Law system and the Japanese legal system. Additional to understanding the evolution of the theory of the “changes of circumstances”, the applicability of the Principle in laws and disputes across the Taiwan Strait is also investigated to see how the honoring of agreements and resolution of disputes may be processed between Taiwan and mainland China.
This research also collects examples of Cross-Strait judicial lawsuits from recent years, and the resulting court decisions which have considered the suitable application, or not, of the ‘Principle of Change of Circumstances’. The Quantitative Method was used to collect the data, and statistical techniques are employed to Analise the variance. Different situations are investigated based on the data analysis and a comparison is made for how the Principle has been applied in the resolution of Cross-Strait project disputes. |
