The Interaction Of Contract Law And Tort And Property Law In Europe

Against the background of the creation of an EU-wide frame of reference for private law relevant to the Common Market, this study, which was requested by the EU Commission, analyses the dovetailing between contract and tort law on the one hand, and between contract and property law on the other. The study examines the legal orders of almost all the Member States of the EU, illustrates the differences between contractual and non-contractual liability and evaluates the different systems of the transfer of property, of movable and immovable securities as well as trust law. The study comes to the conclusion that the intensive considerations on the creation of a model-law in the area of European private law do not allow these thoughts to be limited to contract law. Such a limitation to the scope of the regarding of this area would probably cause more problems than it would solve, or at any rate not do justice to the needs of the Common Market.

This work is inspired by the comparative study published in The Interaction of Contract Law and Tort and Property Law in Europe (ISBN 3 935808 20 8-Cloth-$79.00-2004). Out of a transnational (comparative and EU-oriented) perspective, the essays included discuss whether divergences of property law on contractual security rights in movables constitute an obstacle to the internal market and, if so, what solutions could be offered. Unification or harmonization of private international law cannot offer an adequate solution, while unification of domestic security laws could. However, the latter will take a very long time, partly due to the specific nature of property law. The contributing authors advocate the development of a European Security Right in Movables (ESRM) in addition to the respective contemporary national security rights. A real ESRM would clearly support free competition within the European Union. However, the development of an ESRM will take much time, in particular when dealing with the relation between that ESRM and domestic security rights in the member states. The reader will also find considerations on the contents of an ESRM and on the outlines of the required additional provisions.

All European legal systems recognise a boundary between the domains of tort and contract. While there have been voices contending that this distinction is no longer valid or at least that there should be a unification of the two sets of rules in particular contexts, others claim that there is still a very important distinction to be maintained. In fact the boundary between the two areas is often blurred and whether it is drawn in one place or another varies from country to country, giving rise to the paradox that what is considered a matter of contractual liability in one legal system is governed exclusively by tort law in another. This volume explores how differences between tort and contract affect the foundations of liability, the nature and amount of the compensation, the extent of liability and whether defences and limitation periods corresponding to the distinct causes of action give rise to substantially different outcomes. It also analyses to what extent actions in tort and in contract exclude each other and, when this is the case, how their concurrence is organised. Lastly it devotes its attention to specific situations such as pre-contractual liability and the liability of professionals.

Article 288 (2) EC, on liability of the European Community and its organs, refers to the common principles of tort law in the Member States. There are at least two good reasons for looking into these general principles: in nearly all developed Western legal orders, tort law is determined through judge-made law, which now requires a comparative orientation by means of principles and systemized casuistry; and the various attempts to "Europeanize" private law - from mere restatements to a comprehensive European Civil Code - are all grounded in these common principles of contract law, tort law, property law and so on. This book's somewhat unconventional contribution takes its cue not so much from the politically defined "EC Europeanization", but rather from the transnationality of law. By comparing tort law in the EC member state, Germany, and the non-EC member, the US (two of the most developed western industrial nations), this publication endeavors to develop principles which serve as a basis for generalization. These principles claim validity for the civil-law and common-law legal orders of Western civilizations, which includes the EC with its respective Member States. This title is aimed at a learned European audience interested in legal harmonization, but also addresses comparatists in the civil-law and common-law legal world and mixed jurisdictions outside of Europe. Its main focus is to contribute to the further development of tort law. The idea of a tort law system based on general principles and specific rules grows out of the continental natural-law tradition of civil law, but increasingly principle-oriented works are also found in common law. This book develops a common level of international work on structures and concepts of modern tort law.

Tort law is one of the core areas of European private law, in particular in the field of business law. However, it often receives less attention than the well-known and widely published developments in the field of European contract law. In order to direct more attention to this important subject, an intensive Round Table discussion on the subject of the evolution of torts in European business law was held. The contributions to this volume reflect the results of the research undertaken by renowned European scholars and practitioners on central aspects such as competition law, company law and intellectual property. Each contribution particularly focuses upon the overarching tendencies and principles within the individual aspect of tort law, thereby directing attention to the future at European level of this essential area of private law. Readership: Lawyers, academics, legal departments, judges, legal professionals concerned with torts in European business law.

This is the third edition of the widely acclaimed and successful casebook on contract in the Ius Commune series, developed to be used throughout Europe and beyond by anyone who teaches, learns or practises law with a comparative or European perspective. The book contains leading cases, legislation and other materials from English, French and German law as the main representatives of the legal traditions within Europe, as well as EU legislation and case law and extracts from the Principles of European Contract Law. Comparisons are also made to other international restatements such as the Vienna Sales Convention, the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, the Draft Common Frame of Reference and so on. Materials are chosen and ordered so as to foster comparative study, complemented with annotations and comparative overviews prepared by a multinational team. The third edition includes many new developments at the EU level (including the ill-fated proposal for a Common European Sales Law and further developments linked to the digital single market) and in national laws, in particular the major reform of the French Code civil in 2016 and 2018, the UK's Consumer Rights Act 2015 and new cases. The principal subjects covered in this book include: An overview of EU legislation and of soft law principles, and their interrelation with national law The distinctions between contract and property, tort and restitution Formation and pre-contractual liability Validity, including duties of disclosure Interpretation and contents; performance and non-performance Remedies Supervening events Third parties.

Business law and labour law are driving forces and core areas of European private law. New concepts and approaches are thus required that are not limited to civil law and that are different from those traditionally embraced by national private law. These new challenges regarding the current status and perspectives of European private law are discussed in this volume by sixteen highly reputed researchers from across Europe. The contributions concern various areas of European private law, including contract, property, company, competition and labour law. This book will be an invaluable source for all those working on European law and private law within Europe.