Schuldrechtlich

Schuldrechtlich is an adjectival term used in German civil law to denote matters relating to Schuldrecht, the part of the law of obligations that governs the creation, content, and consequences of duties arising from contracts and other legally binding relationships. It covers obligations to give, to do, or to refrain from acting and encompasses both contractual and quasi-contractual relations.

The scope of schuldrechtlich includes contracts (Verträge) such as purchase, service, work, and rental agreements, as well as quasi-contractual obligations created by legal relationships like Leihe (loan) or Verwahrung (custody), and special forms such as Geschäftsführung ohne Auftrag. It also covers pre-contractual liability (culpa in contrahendo) and other statutory schuldrechtliche relations. Core topics are the emergence of an obligation, the content of duty, performance obligations, and the consequences of performance failures or defects (Leistungspflichten, Leistungsstörungen).

Remedies and consequences are central to schuldrechtlich matters. Typical responses include Erfüllung (fulfillment of the obligation), Schadensersatz (damages) under the fault-based provisions such as § 280 BGB for breach of duty, Rücktritt (rescission), and Kündigung (termination). The regime also addresses issues like impossibility of performance and the rules on prescription (Verjährung), which regulate the enforceability of claims.

Schuldrechtlich differs from delictual (tort) liability, which concerns breaches of duties arising outside contracts. In legal practice and scholarship, the distinction helps classify claims and remedies by their origin in contractual or quasi-contractual obligations rather than in fault-based harm, providing a framework for analysis within the German civil law system.