Commitment
A promise is generally understood to be the unilateral and legally binding promise expressed by a legal entity to undertake a certain action or omission in the future .
General
The word comes from the Middle High German "zuosage", which probably appeared for the first time in 1478 as a legal term in Jena . In 1746, the promise was defined as “a sufficient indication of the will and the persistence of the intention to do something for the other, in such a way that he is not entitled to any coercion”. The promise ( Latin promissio ) must be distinguished from the mere promise, which as a pure declaration of intent does not have to be kept. The person who promised, on the other hand, must stand up for what has been promised and act in accordance with his declaration . Law and case law have long used promise and assurance as synonyms.
Areas of law
In particular, there are commitments in the areas of administrative law , public law , tax law and commercial law .
Administrative law
In administrative law, the commitment is a generic term for assurance , as the wording in Section 38 (1) sentence 1 VwVfG shows. According to this, a commitment given by the competent authority to issue or refrain from a specific administrative act later (assurance) must be in writing to be effective . It is the self-commitment of the administration to do or not to do something. Whether a statement made by a representative of the authorities can be interpreted as a commitment depends on his will to bind the authority legally. If there is no will to commit, there is mere information .
Public law
In public law, there are commitments in civil servant law (assurance under service law, assurance under property law ) and commitments in construction law . Commitments under civil service law must be compatible with the Staff Regulations. In exceptional cases, civil servants may be entitled to appointment from a legally binding assurance . The building law knows Bauvorbescheide to builders , a certain later planning permission be granted.
Tax law
The tax offices and the Federal Central Tax Office can provide binding information on the tax assessment of precisely defined, as yet unrealized issues if there is a particular interest in this in view of the significant tax effects ( Section 89 (2 ) AO ). According to the general opinion, the binding information is an administrative act according to § 118 AO. It is disputed whether binding information and “binding commitments” in tax law have different content; the prevailing opinion is that they are synonyms. The mere information, however, has the character of a non-binding legal notification.
Following an external audit , the tax authority should, upon request, make a binding commitment to the taxpayer as to how a situation that has been checked for the past and presented in the audit report will be treated under tax law in the future ( Section 204 AO). According to Section 205 (2) AO, this binding commitment must contain the facts on which it is based, the decision on the application and the relevant reasons, as well as an indication of which taxes and for which period it applies. This binding commitment is binding for taxation purposes if the situation subsequently realized corresponds to the situation on which the binding commitment is based ( Section 206 (1) AO).
Commercial law
In private business law there are in particular the direct commitment , the pension commitment and the loan commitment . The direct commitment (also: pension commitment) is an obligation based on a legal basis on the part of an employer within the framework of the company pension scheme to pay the employee or his or her surviving dependents one-off or ongoing benefits ( old-age pension , occupational disability , survivors' benefits ) from their own resources after termination of the employment relationship under certain conditions ( Section 1 (1) BetrAVG ). A pension commitment relates to similar pension benefits in favor of a partner - managing director . The loan approval is not made unilaterally by the lender , but is accepted by the borrower by correspondence and is therefore a loan agreement . It is with a monetary limit ( line of credit , international loan facility ), so that the unutilized credit by the borrower parts at any time until the end of the repayment term can be called up. However, the significant deterioration in the borrower's financial circumstances can trigger a loan termination , which protects the lender from further claims. The World Bank or the IMF can loan commitments to states grant them facilities ( English facilities call) and usually with conditions ( conditionality ) connect, to reduce the repayment risk and the States concerned to a change in economic policy to move. The cover letter is a promise by the insurer that grants the policyholder or the insured person provisional cover before concluding an insurance contract and before paying the initial premium .
purpose
The purpose of commitments is to assure the beneficiary of certain facts that he can expect in the future. Commitments of this type involve a considerable financial risk for the business entity making the commitment , as the economic and / or legal basis of the business of the beneficiary can change after the commitment has been made, and the requirements may therefore no longer apply. The promising party must take this into account before issuing the promise.
Others
Processes similar to the promise are notification , approval , consent , permission .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gerhard Köbler , Etymological Legal Dictionary , 1995, p. 480
- ↑ Hermann Friederich Kahrel, Das Recht der Natur , 1746, p. 487
- ↑ BFH, BStBl. 1961 III, 562, 564 f.
- ↑ Gerhard Köbler, Etymological Legal Dictionary , 1995, p. 480
- ↑ Nikolaus Pfander, The promise in public law , 1970, pp. 117 ff.
- ↑ ECJ, Case 162/84, Slg. 1986, 481, 492 - Vlachou
- ↑ BVerfGE 15, 3, 7
- ↑ Klaus Tipke / Heinrich Wilhelm Kruse , Comment on Tax and Financial Court Regulations , 1991, before Section 204, Rn. 6th
- ^ Alfred Monreal, Information and Commitments from Tax Authorities , 1967, p. 26 ff.
- ↑ Ute Arentzen / Eggert Winter, Gabler Wirtschafts-Lexikon , 1997, p. 863
