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| Two Dimensional Functions and Indigenization Path of the Doctrine of Reasonable Expectations |
| Wu Hanyu |
| School of Law, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China |
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Abstract The doctrine of reasonable expectations, as an important doctrine for protecting the interests of the insured in the U.S. insurance law, has two functions. At the abstract level, the doctrine has a value-leading function for the protection of the insured. At the specific normative level, the doctrine has the function of judicial correction for the imbalance of interests in the insurance contract. Compared to the lex lata in China, the value-leading of the reasonable expectations doctrine is more intuitive and systematic. The doctrine provides a new perspective, guiding legislators and judges to pay comprehensive and systematic attention to the reasonable expectations of the insured, which tends to protect the interests of the insured. At judicial correction function, the doctrine of reasonable expectations is similar to lex lata in China in its corrective function in ambiguous terms and its corrective function in non-ambiguous terms to the contra proferentem rule, the insurer’s explanation obligation rule and the invalidity rules of standard clauses, respectively, but the former is more flexible in scope and scale. In respect of legal indigenization, on the one hand, the value-leading function of the doctrine should be referenced by way of formal inclusion as a fundamental principle in the Chinese insurance law theory. The reasons for this are twofold. First, the value-leading function of the reasonable expectations doctrine is consistent with the needs of the protection of the interests of the insured in the Chinese Insurance Law. Secondly, the protection of the insured’s reasonable expectations has a relatively broad legislative basis and judicial practice basis in China. The establishment of the doctrine of reasonable expectations can guide legislators and judicial judges to fully consider the reasonable expectations of the insured and relevant factors causing the reasonable expectations of the insured in the process of legislation and judgment, so as to better reflect the insured’s centralism in insurance legislation and justice. On the other hand, in the reference of judicial correction function, the advantages of the doctrine of reasonable expectation in terms of its flexible scope and scale of correction should be incorporated in order to solve the dilemma of applying the lex lata in China in response to actual cases. Considering that the doctrine of reasonable expectations is not only limited to the field of insurance contract interpretation and regulation, but also overlaps with China’s lex lata in the function of Judicial Correction, as well as the risk of abuse of the doctrine of reasonable expectations itself, it is not the best choice to take the doctrine of reasonable expectations as the miscellaneous interpretation principle of insurance contract, which is directly stipulated in insurance legislation and becomes the basis of direct claim for the parties to ask the court to correct the imbalance of interests in insurance contract. It is more suitable to exist in judicial reasoning in the way of legal interpretation, which will not cause confusion to the system of China’s Insurance Law, but also accord with the actual situation of current judicial practice. Facing difficult cases, judges could incorporate the doctrine of reasonable expectations into the reasoned interpretation of lex lata and use legal interpretation to resolve difficult cases within the framework of statutory law, which can serve the function of individual correction of this doctrine.
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Received: 03 August 2021
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2021, Vol. 51 
