The article analyses three basic models that can be applied to determine the relationship between the proposed Common European Sales Law (CESL) and the rules of private international law: the ‘28th regime-model', the ‘2nd regimemodel', and the '1st regime-model'. It argues that both the...

The law applicable to smart contracts is a neglected topic. At times it is even discarded as irrelevant or unnecessary. In fact, many authors claim that smart contracts especially when stored and executed with the help of blockchain technology make contract law and, in fact, the entire legal...

Fifty years after the foundation of the European Communities the Single Market for insurances has not yet become true. Despite the harmonisation of insurance supervision law insurance companies still essentially refrain from cross-border activity when it comes to small commercial and consumer...

The principle of party autonomy is one of the “cornerstones” of European private international law including the law of international civil procedure. It is deeply embedded in most of the regulations that have been adopted by the European legislator over the last 15 years: the Brussels I...

In May 2013 the European legislature has enacted two legislative measures relating to alternative dispute resolution in consumer matters: the Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR-Directive) and the Regulation on Online Dispute Resolution (ODR-Regulation). Both measures are meant to...

During the last three to four decades the ‘correct' comparative method has become the object of an intensive debate. This debate by now also covers empirical methods that have started to ‘infiltrate' comparative law ever since the turn of the century. Behavioural analysis, however, has not...

The following case note sheds light on the ECJ's decision in Unamar and its implications for the application of overriding mandatory provisions in areas of minimum harmonization and the role of party autonomy in the internal market. It criticizes that the Court foregoes essentially every...

Consumer protection in choice of law is a fairly young concept. In fact, the idea that consumers might be as much in need of protection in choice of law as in other areas of law did not loom large before the second part of the 20th century. However, after the consumer protection movement gained...

The Oxford Civil Justice Survey fills a wide gap in the existing literature on choice of law and choice of forum in the European Union. It provides empirical evidence on how both concepts work in practice and how different legal systems are perceived by businesses. To put the survey into context...