In German contract law, § 311 II BGB lists a number of steps by which an obligation to pay damages may be created.
[1] On the other hand, in the case of land, proprietary estoppel effectively created obligations regardless of any pre-existing contract.
In the United States, however, courts have allowed promissory estoppel to function as a substitute for the consideration doctrine.
Since the 2002 reform of the law of obligations, culpa in contrahendo is provided for by statute §311(2) in connection with §§280(1) and 241(2) of the German Civil Code).
Article 1382 of the Belgian Civil Code is the general legal basis to pursue compensation for damage as a result of a culpa in contrahendo.