Liability under a civil contract when selecting a method of defense

The general and special provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on certain types of contracts reveal a consistent approach of the legislator to identifying a mechanism for enforcing protection of rights violated under a contract. Among the particular methods of protection specified by the legislator, traditional civil liability measures can be observed. It is noted that the legislator does not assign them a primary role in the mechanism for implementing protection of rights violated under a contract. Therefore, using a formal legal research method and methods of systemic and comparative analysis, this paper attempts to identify the functional purpose of the possible liability measures applicable under a contract within the implementation of the legally provided methods of defense. The study allowed understanding the legislator’s intention not to encourage parties to the contract to terminate it with the mandatory imposition of liability measures. A liability measure under a contract is characterized as an additional, preventive, restorative (or suppressive) method of protection, which distinguishes it from other legally provided methods that are not classified as liability. It is concluded that the application of liability for breach of contract is a voluntary or, to a greater extent, forced response by its party to the inappropriate behavior of its counterparty. The choice to apply liability to the latter as a method of protecting its violated contractual rights is not a goal in itself and is primarily determined by the parties’ desire to preserve and continue the contractual relationship.