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The aim of this paper is to investigate the ways in which the law of sales can contribute to the circular economy. The paper focuses on the exercise of the remedies for non-conformity of the goods with the contract. In particular, the paper examines the remedy of repair and the remedy of replacement with a refurbished rather than a new good. A broader availability of these remedies may clearly support sustainability goals. At the same time, however, it may limit the protection of the contractual interest of the buyer. This paper offers a novel approach which allows for a broader applicability of repair and replacement with a refurbished good while at the same time ensuring an adequate protection of the buyer’s performance interest. Furthermore, the paper investigates other instruments within sales law, beyond repair and refurbishment, which can support the circular economy. In this respect, the paper examines the role of the length of legal guarantee periods, the burden of proof of the non-conformity and the regulation of sales of second-hand goods. Repair, refurbishment, replacement, remedies for non-conformity, sustainability, circular economy Motsclés: Réparation, Remise à neuf, Remplacement, Recours pour non-conformité, Durabilité, Economie circulaire Schlüsselwörter: Reparatur, Aufarbeitung, Ersatz, Rechtsmittel bei Vertragswidrigkeit, Nachhaltigkeit, Kreislaufwirtschaft

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The purpose of this article is to investigate whether non-pecuniary interests of the parties should be protected in contract law and what should be the scope of such protection. The paper sheds light on the theoretical framework of contract remedies and claims that moral damages are necessary for an adequate protection of the interests of the parties to a contract. It further investigates the policy arguments against the recoverability of non-pecuniary loss in contract law and argues that such arguments cannot be considered a sufficient justification for a bar to moral damages. Finally, based on a survey of case law from several European jurisdictions, the article provides insight into the kinds of non-pecuniary consequences that may arise from a breach of contract.

The article focuses on whether, in the case of a breach of a sales contract, the buyer can remedy the non-conformity of the goods independently and claim damages for the cost of repair without giving the seller an opportunity to cure his failure to perform. The analysis is based on the solutions adopted in the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The issue has recently given rise to divergent approaches in the literature. The article seeks to shed new light on the problem and offers a way of resolving the question of the interplay between the seller’s right to cure and the buyer’s right to claim damages for the cost of repair. The principal conclusion is that the buyer’s right to claim damages for the cost of repair and the seller’s right to cure do not stand on an equal footing. Rather, the seller’s right to cure has priority over the buyer’s damages claim. As long as the seller is entitled to remedy his failure to perform under the Convention, the buyer cannot cure the nonconformity independently. If he does so, he cannot claim compensation for the costs incurred as a result of the repair. The right to cure; United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods; CISG; damages; breach of contract; remedies; sales contract; repair; avoidance; favour contractus