On the Application of the Rule of Restitution after the Revocation or Invalidation of a Civil Legal Act

When a contract is cancelled or judged to be invalid, the parties have the right to request the other party to return the delivered property, and the receiving party has the responsibility to return such property, which is aimed at restoring the state of the property of the two parties arising from the contract to its original state. In view of China's civil code and other relevant civil regulations in dealing with contract cancellation or invalidity of the return of property is relatively brief, resulting in the theory and practical operation of the controversy. Based on the judicial practice, the issue of property return after contract cancellation or invalidation is analysed in depth, and relevant suggestions for improvement are put forward; the relevant concepts and application of Article 157 of the Civil Code are clarified, and the essence of the right to request for the return of property, the boundaries involving the return of property, the criteria for determining the compensation of discounted price, the applicability of the statute of limitations, and the way of exercising the right of performance defence are examined from multiple angles. Through various perspectives, it examines the practical difficulties of the rules on the return of property after a contract has been cancelled or confirmed to be invalid, and identifies the nature of the bases of different claims through the state of the subject matter, in order to differentiate the application of the rules on the return of property in a variety of different situations.