This book paves the way for, and initiates, the second-generation of research in European private law subsequent to the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) needed for the 21st century. The book gives a voice to the growing dissatisfaction in academic discourse that the DCFR, as it stands in 2009, does not actually represent the condensed available knowledge on the possible future of European private law. The contributions in this book focus on the legitimacy of law making through academics both now and in the future, and on the possible conceptual choices which will affect the future of European private law. Drawing on experience gained from the DCFR the authors advocate the competition of ideas and concepts. This fascinating book will be a must-read for European lawyers, private lawyers in the Member States and academics dealing with conceptual issues of the future of the national and the European private law. Advanced students in both law and international business will also find this book invaluable, as will US scholars interested in the US-EU comparison of different legal orders.
Contents: Introduction, Fabrizio Cafaggi and Hans Micklitz 1. Towards a European Private Law? The Common Frame of Reference in the Conflict Between EC Law and National Laws, Alessandro Somma 2. The Interpretation of Good Faith and According to Human Rights, Fundamental Freedoms and Constitutional Laws in the Common Frame of Reference, Giuseppe Vettori 3. The Role of Competition in the European Codification Process, Stefan Grundmann 4. The Public/Private Divide in European Law, Norbert Reich 5. The Draft-Common Frame of Reference: How to Improve it?, Jan M. Smits 6. The Empirical Missing Links in the Draft Common Frame of Reference, Fernando Gomez 7. A Spontaneous Order for Europe? Why Hayek's Libertarianism is not the Right Way Forward for European Private Law, Martin W. Hesselink 8. The Authority of the Academic 'Draft Common Frame of Reference', Nils Jansen Munster 9. Legal Innovation in European Contract Law: Within and beyond the Draft Common Frame of Reference, Florian Moslein 10. Fitting the Frame: An Optional Instrument, Party Choice and Mandatory/Default Rules, Horatia Muir Watt and Ruth Sefton-Green