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The renascence of uniform law: European contract law and its components

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Jürgen Basedow
Jürgen Basedow*
Affiliation:
Max-Planck Institute for Foreign Private and Private International Law, Hamburg
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Extract

The general theme of this conference - legal change and legal scholarship across Europe - reflects a growing interest of British academic lawyers in the increasing European dimension of law. Indeed, the new dynamics of the unification movement is one of the most salient features of the legal development of the recent past. It has many aspects, including EC legislation and the drafting of restatements and of general principles of law, which I will shed some light upon in the first part of my paper. I will then venture an explanation for the renascence and the new appeal of the unification movement (section II) before turning to a more specific discussion of the hamonisation of private law in Europe (section III), the significance of general principles of law for its unification (section IV), and the restatements of contract law and their role in the process of integration (section V). For the sake of clarity, I should like to premise that harmonisation and unification, although technically having different meanings, will be used interchangeably here.

Type
Research Article
Information
Legal Studies , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , June 1998 , pp. 121 - 145
Copyright
Copyright © Society of Legal Scholars 1998

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References

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3. See eg the citations to Pothier and to US cases and writers in Byrne & Co v Leon van Tienhoven & Co (1880) 5 CPD 344; for a general discussion cf R Zimmermann ‘Der europäische Charakter des englischen Rechts’ (1993) Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 4 et seq, and in particular at 43 et seq.

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8. This is due to the fact that national courts often avoid referring cases to the Court of Justice for preliminary rulings on the interpretation of secondary EC legislation: see my critique in Basedow, J ‘Der Bundesgerichtshof, seine Rechtsanwälte und die Verantwortung für das europäische Privatrecht’ in Festschrift für Brandner (Köln: Dr Otto Schmidt, 1996) pp 651, 665 et seqGoogle Scholar.

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12. See G Cohen-Jonathan and J-F Flauss ‘Commission et Cour européennes des droit de I'homme’ in (1995) Justices-Revue générale de droit processuel 147 et seq; M Roth ‘Die Parteivernehmung als Voraussetzung eines fairen Zivilverfahrens nach Artikel 6 I EMRK’ in (1996) Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 484 et seq; E Schumann ‘Menschenrechtskonvention und Zivilprozeß’ in Gottwald, W and Prütting, H (eds) Festschrift Schwab (Munich: Beck, 1990) 456 et seqGoogle Scholar.

13. Delmas-Marty, above n 2, D 1995 ch 3: ‘droit à la différence’.

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15. Vol 1, 1993 et seq published by C H Beck.

16. Vol 1, 1993 et seq, published by Kluwer Law International.

17. Eg Kötz, H and Flessner, A Europäisches Vertragsrecht (Tübingen: Mohr, 1996) vol I Google Scholar.

18. von Bar, C Gemeineuropäisches Deliktsrecht (Munich: Beck, 1996)Google Scholar.

19. Cf van Gerven, W ‘The Case-law of the European Court of Justice and National Courts as a Contribution to the Europeanisation of Private Law’ (1995) 3 European Review of Private Law 367, 376 et seqGoogle Scholar; see now the first volume: van Gerven, W, Lever, J, Larouche, P, von Bar, C, Viney, G Torts: Scope of Protection (Oxford: Hart, 1998)Google Scholar.

20. For the Lando project, see below n 21, and for the UNIDROIT project see below n 22 further projects have been started in Italy. One of them, an Academy of European Private Law, was founded by Professor Gandolfi of the University of Pavìa following a conference held at Pavìa in Octobe 1990 on ‘II futuro codice europeo dei contratti’, cf R Gandolfi ‘Una codificazione europea sui contratti: prospettive e problemi’ (1991) Rivista del diritto commerciale 659, 685 et seq. A brief description of the work of the Academy is provided by Broquet ‘Deux professeurs lausannois participent à un projet européen’ (1997) 7 Allez savoir - Le magazine de l'Université de Lausanne 56. The other project on the ‘Common Core of European Private Law’ was set up at Trento in 1995: (1997) 1 Newsletter European Private Law 2.

21. Lando, O and Beale, H (eds) The Principles of European Contract Law Part I: Performance, Non-Performance, and Remedies (Dordrecht: Nijhoff, 1995)Google Scholar; see R Goode, below n 22; M Storme ‘Applications possibles et caractères généraux des principes de droit uniforme des contrats’ (1995) Revue de droit international et de droit comparé 309 et seq; R Zimmermann ‘Konturen eines Europäischen Vertragsrechts’ (1995) Juristenzeitung 477 et seq; C Castronovo, below n 26.

22. UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (Rome: UNIDROIT, 1994)Google Scholar; cf Bonell, M J An International Restatement of Contract Law (Irvington, NY, Transnational Publishers, 2nd edn, 1997)Google Scholar; Bonell, M J and Bonelli, F (eds) Contratti Commerciali internazionali e Principi Unidroit (Milan: Giuffrè, 1997)Google Scholar (with 20 contributions); R Goode ‘International Restatements of Contract and English Contract Law’ (1997) Uniform Law Review 231 et seq; see also the contributions in (1992) 40 Am J Comparative Law 617 et seq and in (1995) 69 Tulane Law Rev 1121 et seq; M J Bonell ‘The UNIDROIT Principles in Practice: The Experience of the First two Years’ (1997) Uniform Law Rev 30 et seq; A Giardina ‘Les principes UNIDROIT sur les contrats internationaux’ (1995) 122 Journal du droit international 547 et seq; J-P Béraudo ‘Les principes d'UNIDROIT relatifs aux contrats du commerce international’ (1995) JCP éd G, Doctrine, no 3842; F Ferrari ‘Le champ d'appliction des “Principes pour les contrats commerciaux internationaux”élaborés par UNIDROIT’ (1995) Revue internationale de droit comparé 985 et seq; K P Berger ‘Die UNIDROIT-Prinzipien für Internationale Handelsverträge’ (1995) 94 Zeitschrift für vergleichende Rechtswissenschaft 217 et seq; C Larroumet ‘La valeur des principes d'Unidroit applicables aux contrats du commerce international’ (1997) JCP éd G, Doctrine, no 4011; J C Wichard, below n 43; C Kessedjian ‘Un exercice de rénovation des sources du droit des contrats du commerce international: Les principes proposés par l'Unidroit’ (1995) 84 Revue critique de droit international privé 641 et seq.

23. Resolution of 26 May 1989, OJEC 1989 C 158/400.

24. Resolution of 6 May 1994, OJEC 1994 C 205/5 18 (German version reprinted in (1995) Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 669 with an introductory article by W Tilmann Zweiter Kodifikationsbeschluß des Europäischen Parlaments 534 et seq.

25. Vienna, 11 April 1980, Bundesgesetzblatt 1989 II, p 588 (English, French, and German versions in (1980) I Uniform Law Rev 60; on the ratification by 47 states see (1996) Uniform Law Rev 143 and (1997) Uniform Law Rev 146.

26. A similar position has very ably been argued by P Legrand ‘European Legal Systems are not converging’ (1996) 45 ICLQ 52; see also Jayme, Ein internationales Privatrecht für Europa (Heidelberg: C F Müller, 1991), p 8 Google Scholar; O Sandrock ‘Das Privatrecht am Ausgang des 20. Jahrhunderts: Deutschland - Europa - und die Welt’ (1996) Juristenzeitung 1 at 7; L Mengoni ‘L'Europa dei codici o un codice per l'Europa?’ (1992) Rivista critica del diritto privato 515 at 517 invokes even the Union's duty under art F of the Maastricht Treaty to respect the national identity of member states which allegedly excludes a European code; but see, contra, C Castronovo ‘I ‘Principi di diritto europeo dei contratti’ e l'idea di Codice’ (1995) Rivista del diritto commerciale 21 at 26–27, arguing that art F does not impede comprehensive legislation of the European Union in the field of contracts and obligations.

27. O Lando ‘Unfair Contract Clauses and a European Uniform Commercial Code’ in F M Cappelletti, above n 1, 267 at 285; see also Drobnig, above n 14, p 15; Delmas-Marty, above n 2 (D 1995 ch 2) refers to a ‘certaine communauté des cultures et des traditions’); J Basedow ‘Rechtskultur - zwischen nationalem Mythos und europäischem Ideal’ in (1996) Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 379 et seq.

28. EC Commission White Paper on Completing the internal Market (28/29 June 1985, COM (85) 310 final).

29. Single European Act of 17 and 28 February 1986, OJ EC 1987 L 169.

30. Cited from the German version, see Cecchini, P Europa ′92 - Der Vorteil des Binnenmarkts (Baden-Baden: Nomas, 1988) p 16 Google Scholar.

31. See eg Lando, O The Harmonization of European Contract Law through a Restatement of Principles (Oxford: University of Oxford, Centre for the Advanced Study of European and Comparative Law, 1997) pp 6, 19Google Scholar: ‘Fear of the unknown and incomprehension keeps many potential exporters away from the European Market’. Similarly, Zonderland, P Indeling, uitlegging en regeling van overeenkomsten (Zwolle: Tjeenk Willink, 1976) p 216 Google Scholar; Basedow, above n 14, at 1181.

32. See Drobnig, above n 14, p 20: ‘An Internal Market sooner or later needs for its proper functioning unified or at least harmonized rules of private law’.

33. Suggested, however, by Drobnig, above n 14, p 21.

34. Cf EC Treaty, art 3g.

35. For a comparison of the Council of Europe and the European Community, see Taschner, H C Richtlinie oder Internationale Ubereinkommen? Rechtsinstrumente zur Erreichung der Ziele der Europäischen Union (Bonn: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Zentrum für Europäisches Wirtschaftsrecht, Vorträge und Berichte No 66, 1996) p 13 Google Scholar.

36. Cf Remien, above n 14, at 120 et seq, giving examples of Community acts designed to modify directives and regulations.

37. Geneva, 19 May 1956, United Nations Treaty Series vol 399, p 189; see the Schedule to the Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965; on the present state of ratifications see J Basedow in Münchener Kommentar zum Handelsgesetzbuch vol VII (Munich: Beck, 1997) art 42 CMR, note 1.

38. See art 41 and the commentary by Clarke, M International Carriage of Goods by Road: CMR (London: Sweet and Maxwell, 3rd edn, 1997) pp 347 et seqGoogle Scholar.

39. For a comprehensive survey of European deregulation in the road transport sector, see Basedow, J and Dolfen, M ‘Verkehrs- und Transportrecht’ in Dauses, M (ed) Handbuch des EG-Wirtschaftsrechts (Munich: Beck, looseleaf edition, 1993) Nos 151 et seq, 162 et seqGoogle Scholar; Greaves, R Transport Law of the European Community (London: Athlone, 1991) pp 52 et seqGoogle Scholar.

40. See Basedow, above n 37, ‘Einleitung CMR’ No 34, and ‘art 49 CMR’ No 1.

41. Protocol on the interpretation by the Court of Justice of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on jurisdiction and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Luxembourg, 3 June 1971) OJ EC 1975 L 204/28, published as amended in OJ EC 1978 L 304/97.

42. See the symposium on ‘Alternativen zur legislatorischen Rechtsvereinheitlichung’ (1992) 56 Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht 215 et seq, with contributions by H Kötz, H-J Mertens, A Flessner, O Lando, M J Bonell, M Storme, and a report by O Remien.

43. Delmas-Marty, above n 2, D 1995 ch 3; H-J Mertens ‘Nichtlegislatorische Rechtsvereinheitlichung durch transnationales Wirtschaftsrecht und Rechtsbegriff’ (1992) 56 Rabels Zeitschrifi für auslädisches und internationales Privatrecht 219,236; J C Wichard ‘Die Anwendung der UNIDROIT-Prinzipien für internationale Handelsverträge durch Schiedsgerichte und staatliche Gerichte’ (1996) 60 Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht 269, 283.

44. See Berger, K P Fomalisierte oder ‘Schleichende’ Kodifizierung des transnationalen Wirtschaftsrechts (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1996) pp 99 Google Scholar et seq, with further references; see also the references above in n 43.

45. See above n 25. The relevant provision of art 7(2) reads: ‘Questions concerning matters governed by this Convention which are not expressly settled in it are to be settled in conformity with the general principles on which it is based or, in the absence of such principles, in conformity with the law applicable by virtue of the rules of private international law.’ For a commentary, see Bonell, M J in Bianca, C M and Bonell, M J Commentary on the International Sales Law (Milan: Giuffrè, 1987) pp 80 et seqGoogle Scholar; Ferrari, F ‘Vendita internazionale di beni mobili t. 1 - Art 1–13’ in Scialoja, E and Branca, G Commentario del Codice civile (Bologna: Zanichelli, 1994) pp 151 et seqGoogle Scholar; F Ferrari ‘Interprétation uniforme de la convention de Vienne de 1980 sur la vente internationale’ Revue internationale de droit cornparé 813 at 841 et seq; Magnus ‘Die allgemeinen Grundsätze im UN-Kaufrecht’ (1995) 59 Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht 469 et seq.

46. Hamburg, 31 March 1978; (1992) 27 European Transport Law, 561 et seq; art 3 stresses the necessity of uniform interpretation, but does not expressly refer to general principles of law.

47. Ottawa, 25 May 1988; (1989) 53 Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationals Privatrecht 733 et seq, art 4(2).

48. Ottawa, 25 May 1988; (1987) 51 Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationals Privatrecht 736 et seq, art 6(2).

49. Cf Kropholler, above n 1, p 298; to a similar effect the general view in public international law is that ‘every treaty provision must be read not only in its own context, but in the wider context of general international law whether conventional or customary’. Sinclair, I The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2nd edn, 1984) p 139 Google Scholar with reference to the Namibia judgment of the International Court of Justice on p 140; see International Court of Justice Reports 1971, p 31 and, with particular reference to the CMR Convention, Basedow, above n 37, ‘Einleitung CMR’ No 19, 37.

50. See the far-raching propositions made by Garro, A ‘The Gap-Filling Rôle of the Unidroit Principles in International Sales Law: Some Comments on the Interplay Between the Principles and the CISG’ (1995) 69 Tulane Law Rev 1149 Google Scholar.

51. Kadner, Cf Th ‘Auslandsstudium in Europa - Ein Überblick uber die Möglichkeiten’ (1996) Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 499 Google Scholar; Caspar, U ‘Von ERASMUS zu SOKRATES - neue Wege in der europäischen Bildungspolitik’ (1997) Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 910.Google Scholar

52. See eg Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions, OJ EC 1976 L 39/40.

53. Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the approximation of the laws of the member states concerning liability for defective products, OJ EC 1985 L 210/29.

54. Council Directive 85/577/EEC of 20 December 1985 to protect the consumer in respect of contracts negotiated away from business premises, OJ EC 1985 L 372/31.

55. Council Directive 86/653/EEC of 18 December 1986 on the co-ordination of the member states relating to self-employed commercial agents, OJ EC 1986 L 382/17.

56. Council Directive 87/102/EEC of 22 December 1986 for the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the member states concerning consumer credit, OJ EC 1987 L 42/48 (as amended).

57. Council Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990 on package travel, package holidays and package tours, OJ EC 1990 L 158/59.

58. Council Regulation (EEC) No 295/91 of 4 February 1991 establishing common rules for a denied-boarding compensation system in scheduled air transport, OJ EC 1991 L 36/5.

59. Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts, OJ EC 1993 L 95/29.

60. Directive 94/47/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 October 1994 on the protection of purchasers in respect of certain aspects of contracts relating to the purchase of the right to use immovable properties on a timeshare basis, OJ EC 1994 L 280/83.

61. Directive 97/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 1997 on corss-border credit transfers, OJ EC 1997 L 43/25.

62. Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on the Protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts, OJ EC 1997 L 144/19.

63. Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive on the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees, OJ EC 1995 C 307/8.

64. Amended proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on air carrier liability in case of accidents, OJ EC 1997 C 29/10; the Regulation was adopted on 9 October 1997, OJ EC 1997 L 285/1.

65. For a general survey Franzen, Cf M ‘Rechtsangleichung der Europäischen Union im Arbeitsrecht’ (1995) Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 796 Google Scholar; Franzen, M ‘Arbeitskollisionsrecht und sekundäres Gemeinschaftsrecht: Die EG-Entsende-Richtlinie’ (1997) Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 1055.Google Scholar

66. Cf Basedow, J and Drasch, W ‘Das neue internationale Vesicherungsvertragsrecht’ (1991) Neue Juristische Wochenschrift 785, with further referencesGoogle Scholar.

67. See Basedow, J ‘Zulässigkeit und Vertragsstatut der Kabotagetransporte’ (1992) Zeitschrift für das gesamte Handelsrecht und Wirtschaftsrecht 413 Google Scholar, with further references.

68. See above n 54.

69. See Gesetz über den Widerruf von Haustürgeschäften und ähnlichen Geschäften of 16 January 1986, Bundesgesetzblatt 1986 I, p 122; the return of the goods is not regarded as a valid concellation notice; cf Ulmer, P in Münchener Kommentur zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch vol 3/I (Munich: Beck, 3rd edn, 1995)Google Scholar § 1 Haus TWG no 4.

70. Consumer Protection (Cancellation of Contracts Concluded away from Business Premises) 1987, SI 1987/2117, art 4(5).

71. Spain: Ley 26/1991 sobre contratos celebrados fuera de los establecimientos mercantiles, Boletín Oficial del Estado no 283 of 26 November 1991, cf Art 5(2) and S Schlenker ‘Haustürgeschäfte in Spanien’ (1997) Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 1109 at 1117. Denmark: § 6 (4) Lov om visse forbrugeraftaler (Dørsalg m.v., fjernsalg og løbende tjenesteydelser) no 886 of 23 December 1987, Lovtidende 1987 A, p 3307; J Scherpe ‘Haustürgeschäfte in Dänemark’ (1997) Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 1078 at 1088.

72. Cf J Basedow ‘Einführung: Zur Umsetzung der Richtlinie uber den Widerruf von Haustürgeschäften’ (1997) Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 1075.

73. Cf Heiss, above n 7, at 58; see also above text at nn 45–50.

74. ECJ 10 April 1984, von Colson and Kamann Case 14/83 [1984] ECR 1891 (para 26); ECJ 13 November 1990, Marleasing v Stroke;a Comercial CaseC-106/89 [1990] ECR I-4135 (para 8).

75. See para 8 of the Marleasing judgment, above n 74; for a general survey see Rodriguez Iglesias, G and Riechenberg, K ‘Zur richtlinienkonformen Auslegung des nationalen Rechts’ in Due, O, Lutter, M and Schwarze, J (eds) Festschrift Everling vol II (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 1995) pp 1213 Google Scholar et seq; M Lutter ‘Die Auslegung angeglichenen Rechts’ (1992) Juristenzeitung 593.

76. See the general survey in Weatherill, S and Beaumont, P EC Law (London: Penguin, 1993) pp 219 et seqGoogle Scholar.

77. See eg ECJ 11 July 1991, Crispoltoni v. Fattoria Autonoma Tabacchi Città di Castello Case C-368/89 [1991] ECR I-3695 at 3720.

78. See Schwarze, J Europäisches Verwaltungsrecht (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 1988) vol 1, p 63 Google Scholar.

79. Cf R Schulze ‘Allgemeine Rechtsgrundsätze und europäisches Privatrecht’ (1993) Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 442, 456.

80. ECJ 17 December 1970, Internationale Handelsgesellschafr Case 11/70 [1970] ECR 1125 (para 4); see also Schulze above n 79, at 455 and Schwarze above n 78, with many references.

81. See Schulze, above n 79; van Gerven, above n 19; Storme, above n 21, at 319. J Basedow ‘Rechtssicherheit im europäischen Wirtschaftsrecht - Ein allgemeiner Rechtsgrundsatz im Lichte der wettbewerbsrechtlichen Rechtsprechung’ (1996) Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht 570, limited to the principle of legal certainty; this principle is also reflected by the more recent trends of consolidation of Community legislation: cf A Bernardi ‘Verso una codificazione penale europea? Ostacoli e prospettive’ (1996) Annali dell Università di Ferrara N.S., Sezione V - Scienze Giuridiche, Saggi III, 1 at 152 et seq.

82. Council Regulation No 17: First Regulation Implementing Articles 85 and 86 of the treaty, OJ EC English special edition 1959–1962, p 87.

83. See ECJ 6 April 1962, De Geus v Bosch Case 13/61 [1962] ECR 45 at 51 et seq; ECJ 6 February 1973 De Haecht II Case 48/72 [1973] ECR 77 (paras 8–13); ECJ 30 April 1986, Ministère Public v Asjes Joint cases 209–212/84 [1986] ECR 1425 (para 68).

84. See in particular ECJ 10 July 1980, Lancôme Case 99/79 [1980] ECR 2511 (para 16): ‘principle of legal certainty in contractual matters’; ECJ 6 February 1973, De Haecht II Case 48/72 [1973] ECR 77 (para 9): ‘principle of contractual certainty’.

85. See above n 59.

86. ECJ 24 November 1987, RSV v Commission Case 223/85 [1987] ECR 4617 at 4658 et seq; cf also ECJ 14 July 1972, ICI v Commission Case 48/69 [1972] ECR 619 at 656.

87. See above n 55; in the UK the directive has been transformed by the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993, SI 1993/3053, see arts 3 and 4.

88. See above n 59; in the UK the directive has been transformed by the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1994, SI 1994/3159; cf H Collins ‘Good Faith in European Contract Law’ (1994) 14 OJLS 229.

89. ECJ 14 December 1976, Segouru v Bonakdarian Case 25/76 [1976] ECR 1851 (para 11, 3rd sub-para); ECI 19 June 1984, The Tilly Russ Case 71/83 [1984] ECR 2417 (para 18).

90. See Schwarze above n 78, p 499; after a careful analysis, Grabitz, T E in Grabitz, T E and Hilf, M (eds) Kommentar zum EWG-Vertrag vol 2 (Munich: Beck, looseleaf edition, 1983) art 215 No 45Google Scholar, concludes that the fault of the acting Community official is immaterial.

91. ECJ 2 December 1971, Schöppenstedt v Council Case 5/71 [1971] ECR 975 (para 11).

92. See above nn 53 and 64.

93. See above n 52.

94. ECJ 8 November 1990, Dekker v VJV-Centrum Case C-177/88 [1990] ECR I-3941 (paras 23–25); ECJ 22 April 1997, Draempael v Urania Case C-180/95 [1997] ECR I-2195 (para 21).

95. See above nn 19 and 20.

96. See above n 21.

97. See above n 22.

98. These members were Professors Ulrich Drobnig (Hamburg), Ole Lando (Copenhagen), Denis Tallon (Paris), and, initially, Massimo Bianca (Rome). See also Lando, above n 31, p 10 ‘Most of the two sets of principles provide the same rules.’ For a closer analysis, see M J Bonell ‘The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts and the Principles of European Contract Law: Similar Rules for the Same Purposes?’ (1996) Uniform Law Rev 229.

99. Cf Clark, D ‘The Sources of Law’ in Clark, D and Ansay, T (eds) Introduction to the Law of the United States (Deventer: Kluwer, 1992) pp 33, 45Google Scholar; Reimann, M ‘Amerikanisches Privatrecht und europäische Rechtseinheit - Können die USA als Vorbild dienen?’ in Zimmermann, R (ed) Amerikanische Rechtskultur und europäisches Privatrecht (Tübingen: Mohr, 1995) pp 132, 142Google Scholar et seq; W Gray ‘E pluribus unum? A Bicentennial Report on Unification of Law in the United States’ (1986) 50 Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht 111, 119 et seq.

100. Goode, above n 22 at 234.

101. Ibid.

102. The comparison with ‘soft law’ is drawn by Lando, above n 31, p 22; also Castronovo, above n 26, (1995) I Rivista del diritto commerciale 31: ‘diritto debole’.

103. For a brief survey, see Schwartz, I and Basedow, J ‘Restrictions on Competition’ in International Encyclopedia of Comparative Law vol 3, ch 35 (Tübingen: Mohr, 1995) s 112, p 124 Google Scholar.

104. See art 1.101 EP on the scope of application and Goode, above n 22 at 235; Storme, above n 21 at 312; Castronovo, above n 26 at 35.

105. See the Preamble; Goode above n 22 at 235; Storme above n 21 at 312; Larroumet, above n 22.

106. See art 1.101(3)(a) EP.

107. See above section III; see also Heiss, above n 7.

108. See above, text accompanying nn 87–89.

109. See art 2.15(2) UP; the weakening of the principle tries to reconcile continental conceptions of culpa in contrahendo with common law, which basically confines the operation of good faith to the performance of the contract, see Bonell, above n 22, pp 80, 82 et seq; A Di Majo, ‘L'osservanza della buona fede nei Principi UNIDROIT sui contratti commerciali internazionali’ in Bonell and Bonelli, above n 22, pp 143, 151, 155 et seq.

110. See above n 89.

111. See art 1.106, Illustration 1 in Lando and Beale, above n 21, p 54.

112. See Comment E in Lando and Beale, above n 21, p 55.

113. See arts 3.10 (gross disparity), 7.1.6 (exclusion clauses), 7.4.13 (penalty clauses); cf Bonell, above n 22, pp 95, 99, 101; Drobnig ‘Protection of the weaker party’ in Bonell and Bonelli, above n 22, pp 215 et seq.

114. See above n 59.

115. See art 3(1) of the directive, above n 59; cf M Upton ‘European Unfair Contract Terms Law’ (1995) SLT 295; A Emparanza ‘La directiva comunitaria sobre las cláusulas abusivas en los contratos celebrados con consumidores y sus repercusiones en el ordenamiento español’ (1994) 213 Revista de Derecho Mercantil 461, 468 et seq.

116. Bonell, above n 22, p 95.

117. See art 1.106 EP, Comment A, in Lando and Beale, above n 21, p 53; reference is made eg to art 3.104 allowing the obligor to cure a defective performance before the time of performance.

118. See art 1.7 UP, Comment 1, above n 22, with references, inter alia, to various specific rules on the interpretation of the contract.

119. See above, text accompanying nn 92–94.

120. Article 3.108(1) EP and art 7.1.7(1) UP.

121. See art 3.108 EP, Note 1 in Lando and Beale, above n 21, p 146, and, for the UNIDROIT Principles, M Fontaine ‘Les dispositions relatives au hardship et à la force majeure’ in Bonell and Bonelli, above n 22, pp 183, 190; see the reference to the CISG, above n 25.

122. Cf Schlechtriem, P Einheitliches UN-Kaufrecht (Tübingen: Mohr, 1981) p 1995 Google Scholar; Neumayer, K H and Ming, C Convention de Vienne sur les contrats de vente internationale de marchandises - Commentaire (Lausanne: CEDIDAC, 1993) art 79, No 1Google Scholar; Magnus, U in Honsell, H (ed) Kommentar zum UN-Kaufrecht (Berlin: Springer, 1997) art 79, Nos 1, 3, 11Google Scholar.

123. On the practical application see the reports by v Magnus in Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht (1993) 79; (1995) 202, 212; (1997) 823, 845 et seq. See also C Witz ‘Les premières applications jurisprudentielles du droit uniforme de la vente internationale’ (1995) Zeitschrift für Europäsches Privatrecht 108, as well as the reports given by C Witz et al (1997) somm 217, 221.

124. Cf above, text accompanying nn 69–71.

125. See the Dekker and Draempael judgments, above n 94; see also Weatherill and Beaumont, above n 76, pp 151, 154, with further references.

126. See the preliminary considerations Nos 2 and 3 of the directive, above n 54.

127. Article 1.110(1) EP; art 1.9(1)UP.

128. See on this method Zweigert, K and Kötz, H Einführung in die Rechtsvergleichung (Tübingen: Mohr, 3rd edn, 1996)Google Scholar. § 2 I, II, pp 13 et seq.

129. Zimmermann, Cf R ‘Savigny's Legacy: Legal History, Comparative Law, and the Emergence of a European Legal Science’ (1996) 112 LQR 576.Google Scholar

130. Lando, above n 31, p 21.

131. Dicey, A V and Morris, J H C The Conflict of Laws (London: Stevens, 11th edn, 1987, L Collins (ed))Google Scholar.