The European Commission has initiated consultation proceedings on the “Green Paper on policy options for progress towards a European Contract Law for consumers and businesses”. Questions of contract law in all major jurisdictions throughout Europe, America and Asia play a vital role for our clients, especially in cross-border contexts. On 31 January 2011, Linklaters submitted a detailed response to the Green Paper.
The Green Paper: A critical analysis
Market integration by harmonisation of private law has been a much debated topic for years. Numerous measures have been implemented on a European level harmonising consumer protection and international private law. In the past, such legislation was of a rather piecemeal, fragmentary character and limited to specific areas of law. With the legislative project presented in the Green Paper, however, the Commission appears willing to enter a new dimension of legislative activity and develop new ambitions to shape European private law. This is true in particular for the Green Paper option that is at the centre of the current debate: a European regulation introducing a harmonised contract law either as an optional instrument or as a statute replacing national law in that area.
While the Commission’s aim of building a strong internal market is to be supported, serious doubts remain whether the measures proposed in the Green Paper are a desirable means of pursuing this aim and, in fact, whether the harmonisation of contract law that the Commission intends to achieve is feasible at all. From our point of view, it is far from certain whether a harmonised contract law would have the intended economic benefits. Reaching a consensus on the text for a contract law would be extremely difficult, and it would be virtually impossible to ensure consistent application of a harmonised legal instrument. Moreover, it is doubtful whether the purely economic motivation of the Commission is a sound basis for such a far-reaching unification of law as is envisaged by the Commission.
To read Linklaters' full response, please click here
Contacts
For further information please contact Peter Goes - Tel: +312 0799 6270, Laurenz Schmitt - Tel: +498941808 205, Stephan Balthasar - Tel: +498941808 521,or your usual contact at Linklaters.
Related materials
European Commission Green Paper on policy options for progress towards a European Contract Law for consumers and businesses
