The European Civil Code: The Way Forward (Cambridge Studies in European Law and Policy)

"Hugh Collins argues that the European Union should develop a civil code to provide uniform rules for contracts, property rights and protection against civil wrongs, thus drawing together the differing national traditions with respect to the detailed regulation of civil society. The benefits of such a code would lie not so much in facilitating cross border trade, but in establishing foundations for a denser network of transnational relations of civil society, which in turn would help to overcome the present popular resistance to effective and functional political institutions at a European level. These principled foundations for a more inclusive and less balkanised civil society in Europe also provide elements of a required European social model that offers necessary safeguards for consumers, workers and disadvantaged groups against the pressures of market forces in an increasingly global economic system."--Jacket Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Series-title......Page 4 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 Preface......Page 11 Series Editors’ Preface......Page 13 European Court of Justice and Court of First Instance......Page 15 France......Page 17 Germany......Page 18 Treaties......Page 19 Directives......Page 20 I Civil society and political union......Page 23 1 The constitution of everyday life......Page 26 2 Mutual recognition......Page 29 3 Social dumping......Page 32 4 Post-nationalism......Page 34 5 Networks of transnational civil society......Page 40 6 Towards a European Civil Code......Page 43 7 Objections, refutations and qualifications......Page 45 II The acquis communautaire in private law......Page 50 1 Establishing the common market......Page 53 2 The internal market agenda......Page 56 Negative integration......Page 57 Positive integration measures......Page 60 3 The character of the acquis communautaire......Page 62 Lack of generality......Page 64 Limited harmonisation......Page 67 Re-regulation and private law......Page 68 Tilt......Page 71 4 The judicial acquis......Page 73 Compensation claims under void contracts......Page 75 Cooling-off period for a surety......Page 78 Non-pecuniary loss......Page 80 5 Reforming the acquis......Page 83 III The hidden code......Page 85 1 Legal risk and barriers to trade......Page 87 2 Transaction costs......Page 92 Optional code of contract law......Page 94 Uniform law......Page 97 3 The paradox of the Common Frame of Reference......Page 99 The interpretive obligation......Page 103 Political pressure for harmonisation......Page 107 4 A code that dares not speak its name......Page 108 5 The way forward......Page 111 IV Private law and the Economic Constitution......Page 113 1 What is an Economic Constitution?......Page 116 2 The emerging European Social Model......Page 118 Persistence......Page 124 Social justice......Page 125 Citizenship rights......Page 128 4 The regulatory dimension of private law......Page 130 5 The hybrid character of the acquis communautaire......Page 137 6 Towards a balanced economic constitution......Page 142 V Cultural diversity and European identity......Page 146 1 Solidarity......Page 147 2 Code and culture......Page 152 3 A code of principles......Page 154 4 Political identity......Page 158 5 Moral values......Page 159 6 Language......Page 164 7 Conclusion......Page 166 VI Respecting legal diversity......Page 168 1 Common heritage......Page 171 2 Convergence......Page 173 3 Autonomy of legal culture......Page 176 4 Perfectionism and welfarism......Page 181 5 Private law and perfectionist principles......Page 187 6 Legal networks and sources of law......Page 194 7 Common law and codes......Page 198 1 An impossible necessity?......Page 204 2 Rigidity of codes......Page 207 3 Code as directive......Page 211 Indirect effect......Page 212 Why not direct effect?......Page 215 Implementing a Directive......Page 217 4 Optimal level of specificity......Page 219 5 Reference procedure......Page 222 6 Mutual learning......Page 227 7 Multi-level governance and harmonisation......Page 229 VIII Strengthening convergence......Page 232 1 European Private Law Institute......Page 233 The role of doctrinal scholarship......Page 234 New governance mechanisms......Page 235 Dialogue between the courts......Page 237 Private Law Institute......Page 238 2 Standard form contracts......Page 241 Regulating standard forms......Page 242 Legal diversity......Page 243 Harmonisation of principle......Page 247 Preventive injunctions......Page 250 Collective self-regulation......Page 251 3 Deliberative supranationalism......Page 258 IX Exploring the European Social Model......Page 260 1 Structures......Page 263 2 Substantive principles......Page 269 Integration of externalities......Page 271 Effectiveness......Page 272 Human rights and private law......Page 274 3 The way forward......Page 277 Index......Page 279

Hugh Collins examines whether the harmonisation of private law in the European Union would be a desirable development.