contract law
​
Contract law includes all rules that make a contract, its effects and its downfall. Contracting parties are always private individuals, i.e. natural persons (= people), or legal persons, for example public companies or Limited liability companies (GmbH).
Many legal provisions on contract law can be found in the Code of Obligations (OR). The OR has a general part (AT) and a special part (BT). There are also provisions outside of the OR that belong to contract law, for example in the federal law on die package tour or in the Insurance Contract Act. Conversely, not all articles of the OR belong to contract law in the narrower sense: Commercial law, for example das corporate law regulates, forms its own discipline.
​
A central principle of contract law is freedom of contract. It includes several aspects:
​
-
Freedom of content or design: The parties can determine the content of the contract themselves. The Code of Obligations provides different types of contracts, but individuals are free to use them or not. You may also conclude so-called innominate contracts, i.e. contracts that are not regulated by law or represent a combination of different types of contract that is not provided for by law.
-
Freedom of contract: Everyone is free to decide whether they want to conclude a contract or not.
-
Freedom of form: In principle, contracts do not have to have a specific form and are therefore also binding orally. The situation is different in the cases expressly mentioned by law, for example ein contract of sale for a house only valid if he publicly certified will.
-
Freedom to cancel or change: The parties can agree on the conditions under which the contract may be terminated or changed.
-
Freedom of choice of partner
​​
The freedom of contract is restricted in various places, through formal requirements and provisions on the protection of privacy and consumer protection.
For example, if you have a work contract , freedom of contract also allows the defect rights to be completely ruled out