Is it illegal for a school to force a student to sign a pledge?

Yes, the principle of autonomy of will in civil law is violated.

Legal analysisChina's civil law stipulates the principle of autonomy of will, and civil subjects can independently form a relationship of rights and obligations in private law according to their will. The autonomy of private law is embodied in the freedom of ownership, testamentary freedom and freedom of contract. Legal acts are a tool for achieving the autonomy of private law.

The so-called legal act refers to a legal fact that has a certain private law effect based on the expression of intent as an element. The so-called expression of intent refers to the act of expressing the inner intention to produce a certain effect in private law externally. An expression of intent is an element of a legal act, and without an expression of intent, there is no legal act.

Unilateral legal acts (such as wills, donations, etc.) can be established with only one expression of intent; The legal acts (contracts) of the two parties can only be established if the two expressions of intent correspond to each other; A multi-party legal act (e.g., an agreement to establish a company, a partnership agreement) can only be established if two or more expressions of intent are in parallel and consistent; A resolution (e.g., a resolution at a general meeting of shareholders) can only be established if multiple expressions of intent reach full unanimity or majority consensus in a manner consistent with the rules of procedure and voting procedures. The elaboration of the system of legal acts begins with the theory of expression of intent.

As a kind of expression of intent, the signing of a letter of commitment also follows the principle of expression of intent.

Therefore, the act of compulsorily signing a letter of commitment violates the principle of autonomy of will and has no legal effect.

Legal basisArticle 5 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China: Civil entities engaging in civil activities shall follow the principle of voluntariness and establish, modify, or terminate civil legal relationships in accordance with their own will. Article 6: Civil entities engaging in civil activities shall follow the principle of fairness and reasonably determine the rights and obligations of all parties. Article 7: Civil entities engaging in civil activities shall follow the principle of creditworthiness, uphold honesty, and abide by their promises.

Article 137:Expressions of intent made through dialogue take effect when the counterpart becomes aware of the contents.

Expressions of intent made in a non-dialogue manner take effect when they reach the counterpart. Where an expression of intent in the form of a data message is made in a non-dialogue manner, and the counterparty designates a specific system to receive the data message, the data message shall take effect when it enters the specific system; Where a specific system is not specified, the counterparty knows or should know that the data message enters its system. Where the parties have otherwise agreed on the effective time for an expression of intent in the form of a data message, follow that agreement.

The crux of this question is to determine the nature of the letter of commitment, and scholars have different views on the nature of the letter of commitment: first, it is believed that the letter of commitment is a unilateral contract, which can be established by one party without the other party accepting it, similar to a gift contract, which is binding on the promising party after the contract is established. Second, it is held that the letter of commitment is not a contract, but only a unilateral civil act, because there is no receiving party, and it will take effect once the intention is expressed.

Regarding the letter of commitment of the subject's PO, the respondent believes that it is only a unilateral civil act, and the promising party indicates that when the conditions are established, the promising party shall bear all the responsibilities by itself, and this commitment has not been made by the receiving party, and it can be binding. As a college student with full capacity for civil conduct, the civil act should be expressed out of his true intentions, so the school's practice of forcing the signing of the letter of commitment of the school to the obligation of the department is inappropriate, and the students have the right to refuse. In addition, the content of the letter of commitment reflects the role of the school's exemption from liability, but it should not take effect, and in the event of personal and property damage, it is necessary to conduct a case-by-case analysis in accordance with the provisions of the General Principles of the Civil Law, the Tort Liability Law and relevant judicial interpretations.

Is it illegal for a school to force a student to sign a pledge? Regardless of the reason, it is illegal for the school to force students to sign a letter of commitment, and everything should be based on education and counseling for students, and should not add a lot of pressure to students.

It is not illegal for a school to force a student to sign a pledge. It's hard to say anything about a school if it's illegal.

Illegal Illegal voluntary principle. This pledge should be null and void.

If it is violated, it is even more illegal to confiscate or destroy it directly, and the school has no right to do so.

Legal Analysis: A one-cover signature has legal effect, but if it violates the mandatory provisions of the law, it will be considered invalid. The letter of commitment is a type of contract, and if the contract is violated, it is necessary to bear the liability for breach of contract such as continuing to perform, taking remedial measures or compensating for losses.

According to Article 577 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, if one of the parties fails to perform its contractual obligations or the performance of its contractual obligations does not conform to the agreement, it shall bear the liability for breach of contract such as continuing to perform, taking remedial measures or compensating for losses. Article 584:Where one of the parties fails to perform its contractual obligations or performs its obligations in accordance with the agreement, causing losses to the other party, the amount of compensation for the losses shall be equivalent to the losses caused by the breach of contract, including the benefits that can be obtained after the performance of the contract; provided, however, that it shall not exceed the losses that may be caused by the breach of contract that the breaching party foresaw or should have foreseen at the time of entering into the contract.

Legal basisArticle 577 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China provides that if one of the parties fails to perform its contractual obligations or the performance of its contractual obligations does not conform to the agreement, it shall bear the liability for breach of contract such as continuing to perform, taking remedial measures, or compensating for losses.

Article 584 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China Where one of the parties fails to perform its contractual obligations or performs its contractual obligations in accordance with the agreement, causing losses to the other party, the amount of compensation for the losses shall be equivalent to the losses caused by the breach of contract, including the benefits that can be obtained after the performance of the contract; provided, however, that it shall not exceed the losses that may be caused by the breach of contract that the breaching party foresaw or should have foreseen at the time of entering into the contract.

Legal basis: Article 577 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China provides that if one of the parties fails to perform its contractual obligations or the performance of its contractual obligations does not conform to the agreement, it shall bear the liability for breach of contract such as continuing to perform, taking remedial measures or compensating for losses.

Article 584 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China Where one of the parties fails to perform its contractual obligations or performs its contractual obligations in accordance with the agreement, causing losses to the other party, the amount of compensation for the losses shall be equivalent to the losses caused by the breach of contract, including the benefits that can be obtained after the performance of the contract; provided, however, that it shall not exceed the losses that may be caused by the breach of contract that the breaching party foresaw or should have foreseen at the time of entering into the contract.