On June 24 of the same year, 65438 Party A complained to the public security agency with jurisdiction, claiming that Party B and two others used violence and coercion to force Party A to issue the above-mentioned letter of commitment to Party B and drive away the car. Request the public security organs to file a case for investigation, return the letter of commitment, and recover the vehicle.
After preliminary investigation, the public security organ believed that the criminal circumstances of B’s behavior were obviously minor and did not require criminal liability. The case was not filed for investigation and a notice of disapproval was served.
a Did not apply to the higher-level public security organ for reconsideration within the statutory period, nor did he apply to the People's Procuratorate to request the public security organ to file the case. Now Party A has consulted our firm to file a civil lawsuit with the People's Court. During the discussion, the lawyers disputed the nature of the letter of commitment, that is, is it a unilateral contract, a unilateral commitment or a unilateral act?
(1) The reasons for considering a commitment letter as a contract are: 1. There are two subjects of the commitment letter, namely Party A and Party B. 2. The subjects of the commitment letter are equal subjects. 3. The content of the commitment letter establishes the agreement on civil rights and obligations. 4. Judging from the content of the letter of commitment, it is a unilateral contract. (1) At the same time, a commitment letter is considered a revocable contract. The legal basis is Article 54, paragraph 2, of the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Contract Law"). (2) Party A may, within the time limit stipulated in Article 55, Item 1 of the Contract Law, i.e. within one year from the day after receiving the notice of disapproval of filing the case from the public security organ, bring a lawsuit to the People's Court to revoke the letter of commitment. , requesting the People's Court to revoke the letter of commitment; in accordance with Article 58 of the Contract Law, requiring Party B to return the vehicle and compensate Party A for its losses.
(2) The reason why the letter of commitment is considered to be a unilateral promise is because the letter of commitment is an act by Party A to set obligations for Party B, and Party B expresses its intention to obtain rights, which is consistent with a unilateral promise. constituent elements.
Unilateral commitment is not a contract, so the commitment letter is deemed invalid. The legal basis for determining invalidity is not the contract law, but the provisions of Article 58, paragraph 1, item 3, of the "General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China" (hereinafter referred to as the "General Principles of the Civil Law"). Party A may file a lawsuit in the People's Court to confirm the invalidity of the commitment, and file a lawsuit to confirm the invalidity, which is not subject to the limitation period. (4) According to Article 61 of the General Principles of Civil Law, request Party B to return the vehicle and compensate Party A for its losses.
(3) The reason why a letter of commitment is a unilateral act is that the letter of commitment can be established through Party A’s expression of intention and can become legally effective without the consent of Party B. The biggest difference between it and contract law ⑤ is that, The former can be established through one expression of intention, while the latter can only be established through two mutual expressions of intention. Therefore, the letter of commitment is a unilateral act, not a contractual act.
The legal basis and legal consequences for determining that a promise is invalid are the same as the above-mentioned unilateral promises.