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【摘要】因合同纠纷或其他民事纠纷提起的诉讼，不少原告在诉讼请求中，在提出要求对方支付拖欠的款项时，同时要求对方支付逾期付款的违约金或利息。但司法实践中，要求对方支付逾期付款违约金或利息的诉请被法院驳回的却不在少数。究其原因，虽有各地法院执法标准不统一，或各承办案件的法官对法律理解的不同以及承办法官个人业务素质的原因，但是，未正确、合理运用《中华人民共和国合同法》(以下简称《合同法》)和有关法律的规定提出合理的诉请也是造成这一诉请被驳回的重要原因。笔者试就该项诉请的正确、合理运用提出个人的浅见，供同行们参考。一、问题的提出在因合同纠纷或其他民事纠纷提起的诉讼中，如果提起诉讼的原告诉讼目的是为了要求对方归还借款;支付货款;租金;承揽合同中的价款或酬金;工程价款;技术转让或技术服务、咨询等被拖欠的款项时，往往在提出上述主要诉请的同时，提出要求对方支付逾期付款的违约金或利息的诉请。应当说，在对方拖欠款项的情况下，在诉请对方支付被拖欠款项的同时，诉请对方支付逾期付款的违约金或利息，完全合情合理。但是，司法实践中，要求对方支付被拖欠款项的逾期付款违约金或利息的诉请，多见被法院驳回的情况。究其原因，虽有各地法院执法标准不统一，或各承办案件的法官对法律理解的不同以及承办法官个人业务素质的原因，但是，未正确、合理运用《合同法》和有关法律的规定也是造成这一诉请被驳回的不可忽略的原因。因此，笔者认为，正确、合理运用《合同法》和有关的法律规定，是保护原告合法权益，让对方因拖欠款项而付出比拖欠款额更多金钱的有效手段。二、拖欠款项纠纷中当事人之间对款项支付(归还)的合同约定形态形态1：当事人之间既约定了支付款项的时间，也约定了逾期支付款项应承担的违约责任或支付利息，且违约金或利息的计算方法或数额约定清楚、明确，符合法律的规定。形态2：当事人之间约定了支付款项的时间，也约定了逾期支付款项应承担违约责任或支付利息，但未约定违约金或利息的计算方法或数额。形态3：当事人之间约定了支付款项的时间，但未约定逾期支付款项是否应承担违约责任或支付利息。形态4：当事人之间对支付款项的时间未作约定，或对支付款项的时间约定不明确。三、原告在提出要求对方支付被拖欠款项的本金这一主要诉请的同时主张逾期付款违约金或利息的几种方式方式1：无论何种合同引起的涉及款项的纠纷，在诉请对方支付或归还被拖欠款项的同时，还诉请支付逾期付款违约金;方式2：无论何种合同引起的涉及款项的纠纷，在诉请对方支付或归还被拖欠款项的同时，还诉请支付利息。方式3：在诉请对方支付或归还被拖欠款项时，既诉请支付逾期付款违约金，又诉请支付利息。方式4：在诉请对方支付或归还被拖欠款项时，既不诉请支付逾期付款违约金，也不诉请支付利息。方式5：在诉请对方支付或归还被拖欠款项的同时，诉请赔偿利息损失。四、我国法律对应支付款项的期限规定和拖欠款项应承担法律责任的规定我国法律对各类不同合同履行过程中所发生的款项支付期限和拖欠款项应承担的法律责任，有不同的规定，主要的条款如下：1、《合同法》中关于违约责任的基本规定：第一百一十四条第一款：“当事人可以约定一方违约时应当根据违约情况向对方支付一定数额的违约金，也可以约定因违约产生的损失赔偿额的计算方法。”该条第三款：“当事人就迟延履行约定违约金的，违约方支付违约金后，还应当履行债务。”第一百一十五条：“当事人可以依照《中华人民共和国担保法》约定一方向对方给付定金作为债权的担保。债务人履行债务后，定金应当抵作价款或者收回。给付定金的一方不履行约定的债务的，无权要求返还定金;接受定金的一方不履行约定的债务的，应当双倍返还定金。”第一百一十六条：“当事人既约定违约金，又约定定金的，一方违约时，对方可以选择适用违约金或者定金条款。”2、《合同法》有关买卖合同货款支付的法律规定：第一百六十一条：“买受人应当按照约定的时间支付价款。对支付时间没有约定或者约定不明确，依照本法第六十一条的规定仍不能确定的，买受人应当在收到标的物或者提取标的物单证的同时支付。”3、《合同法》有关逾期返还借款的法律责任规定：第二百零七条：“借款人未按照约定的期限返还借款的，应当按照约定或者国家有关规定支付逾期利息。”4、《合同法》有关承租人拖欠租金的法律责任规定：第二百二十七条：“承租人无正当理由未支付或者迟延支付租金的，出租人可以要求承租人在合理期限内支付。承租人逾期不支付的，出租人可以解除合同。”5、《合同法》有关融资租赁合同中的承租人拖欠租金的法律责任规定：第二百四十八条：“承租人应当按照约定支付租金。承租人经催告后在合理期限内仍不支付租金的，出租人可以要求支付全部租金;也可以解除合同，收回租赁物。6、《合同法》有关承揽合同价款或报酬支付的法律规定：第二百六十三条：“定作人应当按照约定的期限支付报酬。对支付报酬的期限没有约定或者约定不明确，依照本法第六十一的规定仍不能确定的，定作人应当在承揽人交付工作成果时支付，工作成果部分交付的，定作人应当相应支付。”第二百六十四条：“定作人未向承揽人支付报酬或者材料费等价款的，承揽人对完成的工作成果享有留置权，但当事人另有约定的除外。”7、《合同法》和相关法律对建设工程合同工程价款支付的法律规定和逾期付款法律责任的规定。《合同法》第二百八十六条：“发包人未按照约定支付价款的，承包人可以催告发包人在合理期限内支付价款。发包人逾期不支付的，除按照建设工程的性质不宜折价、拍卖的以外，承包人可以与发包人协议将该工程折价，也可以申请人民法院将该工程依法拍卖。建设工程的价款就该工程折价或者拍卖的价款优先受偿。”《最高人民法院关于审理建设工程施工合同纠纷案件适用法律问题的解释》(以下简称《解释》第六条　当事人对垫资和垫资利息有约定，承包人请求按照约定返还垫资及其利息的，应予支持，但是约定的利息计算标准高于中国人民银行发布的同期同类贷款利率的部分除外。当事人对垫资没有约定的，按照工程欠款处理。当事人对垫资利息没有约定，承包人请求支付利息的，不予支持。《解释》第十七条　当事人对欠付工程价款利息计付标准有约定的，按照约定处理;没有约定的，按照中国人民银行发布的同期同类贷款利率计息。8、《合同法》有关技术开发、技术转让、技术咨询和服务费用支付和拖欠费用应承担法律责任的相关规定：第三百三十一条：“委托开发合同的委托人应当按照约定支付研究开发经费和报酬。”第三百五十二条：“受让人未按照约定支付使用费的，应当补交使用费并按照约定支付违约金;不补交使用费或者支付违约金的，应当停止实施专利或者使用技术秘密，交还技术资料，承担违约责任。”五、正确、合理运用《合同法》和相关法律规定，诉请支付逾期付款违约金，或诉请支付利息，或诉请赔偿利息损失运用得当，确保合法权益得到切实保护根据笔者所罗列的前述相关法律的规定，我们可以看到，不同的合同，《合同法》和相关法律对拖欠款项应承担法律责任的规定是不尽相同的。对拖欠款项应承担的法律责任，《合同法》的基本规定是向对方支付违约金，如买卖合同、承揽合同、技术合同等。但对有些合同履行过程中拖欠款项的行为，《合同法》和相关法律拖欠款项应承担的法律责任规定的是支付利息，如借款合同、建设工程合同。而对有些合同，《合同法》和相关法律既没有规定拖欠款项应支付违约金，也没有规定应支付利息。特别需要强调的一种情况是，在合同没有约定付款时间或付款时间约定不明确时，《合同法》虽然明文规定了付款的期限，如买卖合同：“买受人应当在收到标的物或者提取标的物单证的同时支付。” 承揽合同：“定作人应当在承揽人交付工作成果时支付，工作成果部分交付的，定作人应当相应支付。”但《合同法》和相关法律对当事人超出上述规定的付款期限付款是否应当支付违约金或利息没有明文规定，客观上造成了各地法院或各法官在处理这类纠纷时的执法不统一。笔者认为，针对当事人之间不同的合同关系和不同的合同约定形态，在诉请对方支付被拖欠款项的同时，诉请对方支付逾期付款的违约金或利息，或者诉请对方赔偿利息损失，一定要在正确、合理运用《合同法》和相关法律规定的前提下来主张权利，或者根据双方之间的合同约定来主张权利。笔者根据自己多年来在办案中的得失和实践经验，总结出以下四种诉请对方支付逾期付款的违约金或利息，或者诉请赔偿利息损失的不同运用方法，与读者共同探讨。1、在双方合同明确约定了支付款项的时间，也约定了逾期支付款项应承担违约责任或支付利息，且违约金或利息的计算方法或数额均约定明确的情况下，应根据双方之间的合同约定来主张违约金或利息。此种情况下，除非双方之间的约定违反法律的明文规定，主张权利时可以完全根据合同的约定，而不必考虑法律是否对这类合同的违约责任或利息支付是否有规定。2、在双方合同明确约定了支付款项的时间，也约定了逾期支付款项应承担违约责任或支付利息，但未约定违约金或利息的计算方法或数额的情况下。应根据法律的相应规定，正确提出要求对方支付违约金或利息的主张，法律规定此类合同拖欠款项是支付违约金的，应提出要求对方支付违约金，违约金的计算方法或数额可参照《最高人民法院关于逾期付款的违约金应当按照何种标准计算问题的批复》结合《最高人民法院关于修改

Summary: In lawsuits filed due to contract disputes or other civil disputes, many plaintiffs demand that the other party pay the overdue amount while also demanding that the other party pay the penalty or interest for overdue payment. However, in judicial practice, there are many cases where a lawsuit requesting the other party to pay a penalty or interest for overdue payment is rejected by the court. Although there are different enforcement standards in courts across the country, different interpretations of the law by judges handling cases, and personal professional qualities of judges handling cases, the failure to correctly and reasonably apply the provisions of the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Contract Law) and relevant laws to file a reasonable lawsuit is also an important reason for the rejection of this lawsuit. The author attempts to provide personal insights on the correct and reasonable application of this appeal for reference by colleagues. 1、 In a lawsuit filed due to contract disputes or other civil disputes, if the plaintiff's litigation purpose is to demand repayment of the loan from the other party; Payment for goods; Rent; The price or remuneration in the contract of undertaking; Project price; When technology transfer, technical services, consulting, and other outstanding payments are often filed, along with the main claims mentioned above, a claim is made to demand the other party to pay liquidated damages or interest for overdue payments. It should be said that in the case of the other party's overdue payment, it is entirely reasonable to appeal to the other party to pay the overdue payment penalty or interest at the same time as appealing to the other party to pay the overdue payment. However, in judicial practice, requests for overdue payment penalties or interest on overdue payments by the other party are often rejected by the court. Although there are inconsistent enforcement standards among courts in different regions, different interpretations of the law by judges handling cases, and personal professional qualities of judges handling cases, the failure to correctly and reasonably apply the provisions of the Contract Law and relevant laws is also an undeniable reason for the rejection of this lawsuit. Therefore, the author believes that the correct and reasonable use of the Contract Law and relevant legal provisions is an effective means to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the plaintiff and make the other party pay more money than the amount owed due to overdue payments. 2、 The contractual form of payment (return) between the parties in a dispute over overdue payments: 1. The parties agree not only on the time of payment, but also on the liability for breach of contract or payment of interest for overdue payments, and the calculation method or amount of liquidated damages or interest is clear and in accordance with legal provisions. Form 2: The parties have agreed on the time of payment and also agreed on the liability for breach of contract or payment of interest for overdue payments, but have not agreed on the calculation method or amount of liquidated damages or interest. Form 3: The parties have agreed on the payment time, but have not agreed on whether the overdue payment should bear breach of contract liability or interest payment. Form 4: There is no agreement between the parties regarding the time of payment, or the agreement on the time of payment is unclear. 3、 The plaintiff, while proposing the main lawsuit of requesting the other party to pay the principal of the overdue payment, also advocates several ways to pay the penalty or interest for overdue payment: 1. Regardless of the dispute involving payment caused by any contract, while requesting the other party to pay or return the overdue payment, also requesting the payment of the penalty for overdue payment; Method 2: Regardless of the type of dispute arising from the contract involving payment, the other party shall be sued to pay or return the overdue amount, and interest shall also be sued. Method 3: When appealing to the other party for payment or repayment of the overdue amount, both the payment of late payment penalty and interest shall be sued. Method 4: When appealing to the other party for payment or repayment of the overdue amount, neither the late payment penalty nor the interest shall be appealed. Method 5: While appealing to the other party for payment or repayment of the overdue amount, the lawsuit also seeks compensation for interest losses. 4、 There are different provisions in Chinese law regarding the payment deadline and legal liability for overdue payments that occur during the performance of various contracts. The main provisions are as follows: 1. The Contract Law The basic provisions on breach of contract liability in China: Article 114, Paragraph 1: "The parties may agree that one party shall pay a certain amount of liquidated damages to the other party based on the circumstances of the breach, or may agree on the calculation method for the amount of compensation for losses incurred due to the breach." The third paragraph of this article: "If the parties agree on liquidated damages for delayed performance, the defaulting party shall also perform the debt after paying the liquidated damages." Article 115: "The parties may, in accordance with the Guarantee Law of the People's Republic of China, agree that one party shall pay a deposit to the other party as a guarantee for the creditor's rights. After the debtor fulfills the debt, the deposit shall be used as the price or recovered. If the party who pays the deposit fails to fulfill the agreed debt, they have no right to demand the return of the deposit. If the party who accepts the deposit fails to fulfill the agreed debt, they shall return the deposit twice." Article 116: "If both parties agree on a penalty for breach of contract and a deposit, if one party breaches the contract, the other party may choose to apply the penalty or deposit clause." 2. Legal provisions of the Contract Law on payment of purchase and sale contract payments: Article 161: "The buyer shall pay the price at the agreed time.". If there is no agreement or unclear agreement on the payment time, and it cannot be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article 61 of this Law, the buyer shall make payment at the same time as receiving the subject matter or the document for extracting the subject matter 3. Article 207 of the Contract Law stipulates the legal liability for overdue repayment of loans: "If the borrower fails to repay the loan within the agreed time limit, they shall pay overdue interest in accordance with the agreement or relevant national regulations." Article 227: "If the lessee fails to pay or delays payment of rent without justifiable reasons, the lessor may demand that the lessee pay within a reasonable period of time. If the lessee fails to pay on time, the lessor may terminate the contract." Article 248: "The lessee shall pay the rent in accordance with the agreement. If the lessee fails to pay the rent within a reasonable period of time after being urged, the lessor may demand payment of the full rent, or terminate the contract and reclaim the leased property." Article 263: "The ordering party shall pay the remuneration within the agreed time limit. If there is no agreement or unclear agreement on the time limit for payment of remuneration, and it cannot be determined in accordance with Article 61 of this Law, the ordering party shall pay when the contractor delivers the work results. If the work results are partially delivered, the ordering party shall pay accordingly." Article 264: "If the ordering party fails to pay the remuneration or material costs to the contractor, the contractor shall have a right of retention on the completed work results, except as otherwise agreed by the parties." 7. The provisions of the Contract Law and relevant laws on the payment of construction project contract prices and the legal liability for overdue payments. Article 286 of the Contract Law: "If the employer fails to pay the price as agreed, the contractor may urge the employer to pay the price within a reasonable period of time. If the employer fails to pay within the time limit, except for those that are not suitable for discount or auction according to the nature of the construction project, the contractor may agree with the employer to discount the project or apply to the people's court to auction the project in accordance with the law.". The price of the construction project shall be prioritized for compensation based on the discounted or auctioned price of the project Article 6 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of Law in the Trial of Construction Contract Disputes (hereinafter referred to as the Interpretation) states that if the parties have an agreement on advance funds and interest on advance funds, and the contractor requests to return the advance funds and their interest in accordance with the agreement, it shall be supported, except for the part where the agreed interest calculation standard is higher than the same period and similar loan interest rate published by the People's Bank of China. If there is no agreement between the parties regarding the advance payment, it shall be treated as engineering arrears. If there is no agreement between the parties regarding the interest on the advance payment, and the contractor requests payment of interest, it shall not be supported. Article 17 of the Interpretation: If the parties have agreed on the standard for calculating interest on the unpaid project price, they shall handle it in accordance with the agreement; If there is no agreement, interest shall be calculated based on the same period loan interest rate published by the People's Bank of China. 8. Article 331 of the Contract Law stipulates that the principal of a commissioned development contract shall pay the research and development funds and remuneration in accordance with the agreement. Article 352: "If the assignee fails to pay the usage fee as agreed, it shall make up for the usage fee and pay a penalty for breach of contract in accordance with the agreement."; Those who fail to pay the usage fee or pay a penalty for breach of contract shall cease the exploitation of the patent or the use of technical secrets, return the technical materials, and bear the liability for breach of contract 5、 Correctly and reasonably applying the Contract Law and relevant legal provisions, seeking payment of liquidated damages for overdue payments, or seeking payment of interest, or seeking compensation for interest losses, ensuring the effective protection of legitimate rights and interests. According to the provisions of the aforementioned relevant laws listed by the author, we can see that different contracts, the provisions of the Contract Law and relevant laws on the legal liability for overdue payments are not the same. The basic provision of the Contract Law is to pay liquidated damages to the other party for overdue payments, such as sales contracts, contracting contracts, technical contracts, etc. But for some behaviors of defaulting on payments during the performance of contracts, the Contract Law and relevant laws stipulate that the legal responsibility for defaulting on payments is to pay interest, such as loan contracts and construction project contracts. For some contracts, the Contract Law and relevant laws do not stipulate that liquidated damages or interest should be paid for overdue payments. A special situation that needs to be emphasized is that when the contract does not specify the payment time or the payment time is not clearly specified, although the Contract Law explicitly stipulates the payment deadline, such as the sales contract: "The buyer shall pay at the same time as receiving the subject matter or extracting the subject matter document." The contracting contract: "The ordering party shall pay when the contractor delivers the work results. If the work results are partially delivered, the ordering party shall pay accordingly.". ”However, there is no clear provision in the Contract Law and relevant laws regarding whether the parties should pay liquidated damages or interest when making payments beyond the above-mentioned payment deadline, which objectively leads to inconsistent enforcement by courts or judges in various regions when dealing with such disputes. In the author's opinion, in response to the different contractual relationships and forms of contractual agreements between the parties, when appealing to the other party for payment of the overdue amount, and also requesting the other party to pay liquidated damages or interest for overdue payment, or requesting the other party to compensate for interest losses, it is necessary to assert rights based on the correct and reasonable application of the Contract Law and relevant legal provisions, or based on the contractual agreements between the two parties. Based on my years of experience and practical experience in handling cases, the author has summarized the following four different application methods for requesting the other party to pay liquidated damages or interest for overdue payments, or for requesting compensation for interest losses. Let's explore together with readers. 1. In cases where the contract between the two parties clearly stipulates the time for payment and also stipulates that overdue payments should bear the liability for breach of contract or interest, and the calculation method or amount of the penalty or interest is clearly agreed upon, the claim for penalty or interest should be based on the contractual agreement between the two parties. In this case, unless the agreement between the two parties violates the explicit provisions of the law, the claim of rights can be based entirely on the provisions of the contract, without considering whether the law has provisions for breach of contract liability or interest payment for such contracts. 2. In the case where the contract between the two parties clearly stipulates the time for payment and also stipulates that overdue payments should bear breach of contract liability or interest, but the calculation method or amount of liquidated damages or interest is not specified. According to the corresponding provisions of the law, a correct claim should be made to demand the other party to pay liquidated damages or interest. If the law stipulates that overdue payments in such contracts are subject to liquidated damages, the other party should be required to pay liquidated damages. The calculation method or amount of liquidated damages can refer to the reply of the Supreme People's Court on the standard for calculating liquidated damages for overdue payments, combined with the Supreme People's Court's Decision on Amending the Amendment