Väsentlighetskravet för hävning av kommersiella köp av lös egendom - Särskilt om dess innebörd och tillämpning i svensk och engelsk rätt

Swedish law only permits termination due to breach of contract when the committed breach is fundamental. To assess the fundamentality of a breach of contract is no easy mission. The main purpose of this study is to clarify the legal meaning of the concept of fundamental breach as a prerequisite in Swedish law for terminating a commercial contract. This study thoroughly focuses on the assessments of fundamentality made in relation to breaches of purchase agreements. It is based on a traditional legal method and considers generally accepted sources of law such as legal text, the legislative history, case law and jurisprudence. In addition, English contract and termination law and its relation to Swedish law is studied with a comparative method. Differences and similarities between English termination law and the Swedish prerequisite of fundamentality for termination of commercial contracts are analyzed and discussed. In summary, it has been concluded that the prerequisite of fundamentality for termination of purchase agreements constitutes a general principle in Swedish contract law. The prerequisite, containing a requirement of both fundamentality and foreseeability, has an important function as a tool for determining the legitimacy of the termination. A case-by-case assessment of the fundamentality of the breach of contract needs to take place. The assessor may consider, as guidelines for the assessment, the purpose of the contract, the construction of the contract as well as the character of the contract together with the alternative possibilities of compensation that stand available. Although it cannot be concluded exactly when and in which situations these parameters are to be applied, they may be used as general guidelines for the assessment. The prerequisite in The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) for terminating a commercial contract has many similarities to the Swedish one. In case law it has been confirmed tha