The Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) is just published. Now the creation of the final Common Frame of Reference (CFR) is one of the most important issues in the field of European Private Law. The volume discusses the key question as to what extent the CFR can and should reflect existing EC Contract Law, and to what extent the DCFR has already incorporated the acquis communautaire. The contributions to this volume try to provide answers to this question by analyzing different controversial areas such as the conclusion and content of the contract (pre-contractual duties, non-discrimination or withdrawal), non-performance, remedies, damages and the relation to International Private Law.

In this volume, the Study Group and the Acquis Group present the first academic Draft of a Common Frame of Reference (DCFR). The Draft is based in part on a revised version of the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) and contains Principles, Definitions and Model Rules of European Private Law in an interim outline edition. It covers the books on contracts and other juridical acts, obligations and corresponding rights, certain specific contracts, and non-contractual obligations. One purpose of the text is to provide material for a possible "political" Common Frame of Reference (CFR) which was called for by the European Commission's Action Plan on a More Coherent European Contract Law of January 2003.

Critical yet accessible, this book provides an overview of the current debates about the ‘Europeanization’ of contract law. Charting the extent to which English contract law has been subject to this activity, it is the ideal volume for readers unfamiliar with the subject who wish to understand the main issues quickly. It examines a range of key developments, including: a string of directives adopted by the European Union that touch on various aspects of consumer law recent plans for a European Common Frame of Reference on European Contract Law. Bringing together advanced legal scholarship, critically examining key developments in the field and considering the arguments for and against greater convergence in the area of contract law, this is an excellent read for postgraduate students studying contract and/or European law.

This text provides a comprehensive guide to the principles of European contract law. They have been drawn up by an independent body of experts from each Member State of the EU, under a project supported by the European Commission and many other organizations. The principles are stated in the form of articles, with a detailed commentary explaining the purpose and operation of each article and its relation to the remainder. Each article also has extensive comparative notes surveying the national laws and other international provisions on the topic.

The Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) is the result of more than 25 years of academic research on European private law. The final academic version of the DCFR was published in October 2009, and currently the European Commission is undertaking a selection process in order to determine which parts of the DCFR will be included in a 'political' CFR. Against this background, this book presents and critically analyzes the DCFR and situates it in relation to current Belgian law. (Series: Ius Commune Europaeum - Vol. 99)

Non-contractual liability, stemming from damage accountably caused to another, has been the subject of the PETL and DCFR VI European reform initiatives. Gert Brüggemeier, however, proposes alternative reforms which, instead of trying to overcome the differences between civil law (delict) and common law (torts), are restricted to civil liability. The focus is on the grounds of accountability, and stricter forms of liability are at the fore. Quasi-strict enterprise liability is introduced to fill the lacuna between personal fault and forms of strict liability. A commentary is included on recent legislation on civil liability in China, Brazil and Russia to demonstrate how these large countries try to come to grips with the challenges of 'risk society'.

The rules presented in this volume of "Principles of European Law" deal with commercial agency, franchise and distribution contracts, and with other contracts where one party uses the other party's skill and efforts to bring its products to the market. Although these Principles are not directly applicable to other long-term (commercial) contracts, some of the Articles may be applied to such contracts by way of analogy where appropriate. The economic function of all three contracts is that they are instrumental in bringing products to the market. They are so-called vertical agreements, as they are agreements between economic actors on different levels in the production and distribution chain. Obviously, the economic importance of these contracts is enormous since they form the connection between producers and retailers who sell the products to consumers and other final users. There are only very few economic sectors where producers regularly sell their products directly to final consumer users. Goodwill compensation after the ending of a distribution contract, the moment at which the agent's commission is due, the franchisor's obligation to maintain the good reputation of the network are but a few examples of issues where specific rules are needed in order to give legal practice some guidance and to provide practitioners with a reasonable degree of legal certainty.