I develop a novel, rights-based conception of contract—the “democratic conception”—that can deliver a justification for granting a sphere of freedom to contracting parties while setting principled limits on that grant. It justifies doctrines—including the penalty doctrine, the doctrine of substantial performance, a robust doctrine of changed circumstances, and a robust doctrine of unconscionability—that an influential group of contract theorists argue set unprincipled limits on the parties’ equal procedural freedom. My account shows how these doctrines can be rendered compatible with a robust principle of freedom of contract that is grounded in the parties’ rights.

中文翻译：

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落实契约自由


我提出了一种新颖的、基于权利的合同概念——“民主概念”——它可以为赋予缔约方一定的自由范围提供理由，同时对这种授予设定原则上的限制。它证明了一些学说的合理性——包括惩罚学说、实质履行学说、变化情况的强有力学说和不合情理的强有力学说——一个有影响力的合同理论家团体认为，这些学说对当事人的平等程序自由设置了无原则的限制。我的叙述展示了如何使这些原则与以当事人权利为基础的强有力的合同自由原则相兼容。