New Directions in European Private Law (Modern Studies in European Law)

This book brings together leading scholars and practitioners to explore contemporary challenges in the field of European private law, identify problems, and propose solutions. The first section reassesses the existing theoretical framework and traditional legal scholarship on which European private law has developed. The book then goes on to examine important and practical topics of geo-blocking and standardisation in the context of recent legislative developments and the CJEU case law. The third section assesses the challenging subject of adequate regulation of online platforms and the sharing economy that has been continuously addressed in recent years by European private law. The fourth section deals with the regulatory challenges brought by an increasing development of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, as well as the question of liability. The final section examines recent European legislative developments in the area of digital goods and digital content and identifies potential future policy directions in which European private law may develop in the future. Volume 103 in the Series Modern Studies in European Law Contents 6 List of Contributors 8 Introduction 10 I. Background 10 II. Content 10 1. Political Disruption, Technological Disruption and the Future of EU Private Law 16 I. Introduction 16 II. The First Tension 18 III. The Second Tension 25 IV. The Third Tension 30 V. Conclusion 36 2. Standardisation of Agreement in EU Law. An Adieu to the Contracting Parties? 38 I. Introduction 38 II. The Formation of Contracts under National Law. The Proposals to Harmonise European Contract Law 42 III. The Bases of MEUCL 44 IV. The Legal Standard: The 'Average' 50 V. Conclusion 66 3. Schools of Thought in European Private Law 70 I. Introduction 70 II. Classical Schools of Thought 72 III. Modern Schools of Thought 81 IV. The Paradigm Shift: The End of a Noble Narrative 90 V. Conclusion 92 4. The Geo-blocking Regulation and the Digital Single Market Strategy 94 I. Introduction 94 II. The Rationale, Ambit and Scope of the Geo-blocking Regulation 96 III. Regulatory Safe Harbours 98 IV. Geo-blocking Practices and Competition Policy 100 V. Connection with Consumer Protection Regulation, e-Commerce Regulation and GDPR 104 VI. Conclusions. Towards a 'Circular' Interplay between Regulation and Competition 109 5. The Case Law of the Court of Justice of the European Union on Directive 98/34/EC Laying Down a Procedure for the Provision of Information in the Field of Technical Standards and Regulations (Directive 2015/1535) and Its Impact on Private Law Relations 112 I. Introduction 112 II. Background to Directive 98/34 114 III. The CIA Security and Unilever Judgments – Horizontal Effects of Directive 98/34 117 IV. Article 1(2) of Directive 98/34 – The Concept of a 'Technical Regulation' 123 V. 'Composite Rules' – Article 1(5) of Directive 98/34 127 VI. 'Composite Services'/Intermediation Services? – Article 1(2) of Directive 98/34 129 VII. Conclusion 133 6. Beyond Regulation: The Collaborative Economy in Need of New General Principles of EU Law? 136 I. Introduction 136 II. The Role of General Principles in the Collaborative Economy 138 III. Resilience: New Light to Old Principles 139 IV. Reinvention: New Principles 148 V. Conclusion 155 7. Activating EU Private Law in the Online Platform Economy 156 I. Introduction 156 II. Background/The Rise of the Online Platform Economy 157 III. Some Relevant Findings about Online Platforms 159 IV. Online Platforms Are an Ecosystem-Building Business Model 164 V. Private Law in the Online Platform Economy 165 VI. The Future of EU Private Law 170 VII. Conclusion 177 8. Blockchain Law: Between Public and Private, Transnational and Domestic 178 I. Introduction 178 II. The Rise of Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrencies 180 III. The Law's Response 188 IV. Blockchain between Self-Regulation and External Regulation 194 V. Conclusion 200 9. Civil Liability and New Technologies 202 I. Introduction 202 II. How the Law Views Emerging Digital Technologies and Their Characteristics 203 III. Analytical Methods Applicable to Emerging Digital Technologies 206 IV. Proposals for Solutions 211 V. Conclusion 219 10. Harmonising Private Law in Cyberspace: The New Directives in the Digital Single Market Context 222 I. Introduction 222 II. The Origins 223 III. Directives in the Digital Single Market Context 227 IV. Civil Law as a Tool for Regulating the Internet 234 V. Concluding Remarks 237 11. Epilogue – New Directions, but Which Ones? 242 I. New Instrumentalism and New Functionalism 242 II. Many Possible Directions 243 III. European Private Law Scholarship 247 IV. European Private Law as European Economic Law 249 V. Many Directions – Many Options 252 VI. Methodology 253 VII. Conclusion – Is There a Conclusion? 254 Index 256 "This book brings together leading scholars and practitioners, to explore contemporary challenges in the field of European private law, identify problems, and propose solutions. The first section reassesses the existing theoretical framework and traditional legal scholarship on which European private law has developed. The book then goes on to examine important and practical topics of geo-blocking and standardisation in the context of recent legislative developments and the CJEU case law. The third section assesses the challenging subject of adequate regulation of online platforms and sharing economy that has been continuously addressed in the recent years by European private law. A fourth section deals with the regulatory challenges brought by an increasing development of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology and the question of liability. The final section examines recent European legislative developments in the area of digital goods and digital content and identifies potential future policy directions in which the European private law may develop in the future"-- Provided by publisher