The Structural Transformation Of European Private Law

"This book offers a ground-breaking reading, both comparative and historical, of the structure and transformation of private law in continental Europe. In so doing it reconstructs a hermeneutical praxis that is (it is argued) at the core of private law: the balancing of conflicting interests and normative considerations. It makes three key arguments; firstly that 'balancing' in private law is a not merely an analytical process but instead a form of legal argument. Secondly, in order to truly understand private law, a bottom-up historical analysis must be adopted. Thirdly, 'balancing' has always been a comparative process within civil law systems and across the civil-common law divide. This is an ambitious and magisterial survey of European private law, which offers innovative analytical tools in order to allow a deep understanding of the evolution of the discipline."--

There remains an urgent need for a deeper discussion of the theoretical, political and federal dimensions of the European codification project. While much valuable work has already been undertaken, the chapters in this volume take as their starting point the proposition that further reflection and critical thought will enhance the quality and efficacy of the on-going work of the various codification bodies. The volume contains chapters by representatives of the Common Frame of Reference, the Study Group and the Acquis Group as well as by those who have not been involved in particular projects but who have previously commented more distantly on their work - for instance those belonging to the Trento Group, and the Social Justice Group. The chapters between them represent the most comprehensive attempt so far to survey the state of the codification project, its theoretical, political and federal foundations and the future prospects for enforcement and compliance.

This is a remarkably ambitious work of scholarship. What can Europe bring to private law, and what can it take away? And how do we shape the institutional design of the governance model(s) that comprise Europe ? A stellar collection of contributors provides important fresh insights into the evolving and varied patterns according to which private law is generated in Europe. Stephen Weatherill, Somerville College, Oxford, UK The debate concerning the desirability and modes of harmonisation of European Private Law (EPL) has, until now, been mainly concerned with substantive rules. The link between rules and institutions suggests that governance of both the process of harmonisation and its outcome is necessary. This book covers various perspectives on the challenge of designing governance for EPL: the implications of a multi-level system in terms of competences, the interplay between market integration and regulation, the legitimacy of private law making, the importance of self-regulation, the usefulness of conflict of law rules, the role of intergovernmental institutions, and the aftermath of enlargement. In addressing these, the book s achievements are to successfully link two areas of scholarship that have so far remained separate, EPL and new modes of governance, and to address institutional reforms. The contributions offer different proposals to improve governance: the creation of a European Law institute, the improvement of judicial cooperation among national courts, the use of committees for implementation of EPL. Suggesting practical institutional reforms that can improve the process of Europeanisation of private law, this book will be of great interest to scholars of law, politics, political science, sociology and economics. It will also appeal to policymakers, and members of both European institutions and national institutions dealing with European matters.

In The New European Private Law, Martijn W. Hesselink presents a revised and supplemented collection of essays written over the last five years on European private law. He argues that the creation of a common private law in Europe is not merely a matter of rediscovering the old ius commune or of neutrally establishing the present 'common core' which may be codified in a European Civil Code. Rather, it is a matter of making choices, some of which may be highly controversial. In this book he discusses some of the most important choices which will have to be made with regard to culture, principles, politics, models, rights, concepts and structure in the new European private law.

The private law of the Member States of the European Union has become more and more 'European'. The fact that the European Union is making ever more use of directives as an instrument to achieve private law goals, is, in this context, not the most important development. Of much more substance is the fact that one increasingly realises that a uniform European private law has to be created, in one way or another, in the near future, if a truly common European market is to function at all. Over the last decade, Europe has witnessed the emergence of a vigorous debate about the need for and the feasibility of a future European ius commune in the field of private law. This book critically discusses this debate and provides a systematic overview of the various initiatives taken and describes the fragmentary European private law that already exists (by way of European directives, international conventions, etc.). In addition, the author aims at making a contribution to the debate by suggesting that the experience (good or bad) of the so-called 'mixed legal systems' is of great importance to the European private law venture and to the development of a uniform private law for Europe. This idea is supported by insights from Law & Economics and illustrated by South African law in particular. This idea of 'European private law as a mixed legal system' is then applied to the law of contracts, torts and property. This book takes up the challenge to give a critical examination on the various methods of creating this ius commune. A detailed table of contents, list of abbreviations, bibliography, table of cases and index complete the book and make it a valuable study for everyone interested in European private law.

This book proposes a new analysis of the transformation of Europe through integration, exactly 30 years after the beginning of transformation scholarship. It consists of a reconstruction of the development and present condition of European integration in relation to private ordering. Looking at the interface between, on the one hand, the EU constitutional order and, on the other hand, private ordering, the book recounts three major structural transformations over the last six decades. Delving into the private law areas most exposed to the current modernisation wave – consumer law, internal market, lex mercatoria, digitisation, artificial intelligence, data protection, standardised contracts, finance and political economy, and labour – the book critically explores a reconfiguration of Europe's constitutional structures relative to, and that results from, what to some appears to be an almost irresistible rise of private ordering through a transformed hermeneutics (balancing). This is a magisterial survey of European law, European private law, and comparative law seen through a pathbreaking comparative methodology labelled 'juridical comparative hermeneutics' within civil law systems and across the civil-common law divide, which offers innovative analytical tools that afford a deep understanding of the evolution of the disciplines.

In twelve topical papers, written by renowned experts in distinct areas of the law, the reader will find out how private law and private international law instruments can serve public policy goals (such as the protection of the environment, product safety or services of general economic interest) and how these instruments interact with regulation in the proper sense. A must for those who want to explore the borderline if it exists between public and private law in the EU. Jules Stuyck, Leuven University, Belgium In the context of the current debate on the desirability and process of forming European private law (EPL), this book considers one fundamental question addressing its descriptive and normative dimension: does and should EPL pursue regulatory objectives beyond market integration? The editors argue that because national categories are of little help in grasping the characteristics of a multi-level regulatory system, it is necessary to link three perspectives: private law, regulation and conflict of laws. This book explores this interaction in four distinct fields: product liability, environmental protection, public utilities and e-commerce. The results show that EPL is highly regulatory and that the implications of this change have not been adequately considered by institutions and by scholars. The Regulatory Function of European Private Law will be of great interest to academics of law, as well as to private and public lawyers and European policymakers.

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.