The Principles of European Law on Commercial Agency, Franchise and Distribution Contracts (PEL CAFDC, 2006) are an academic proposal of the Study Group on a European Civil Code for the European-wide regulation of the contents of these three types of agreements. The academic analysis "Franchising in European Contract Law" focuses on the harmonised Principles on Franchising. At present all member states of the EU have their own regulation on franchising. This situation might change in the light of the political process of Europeanization of contract law that was initiated by the European Commission in 2001. As a result of that process the Principles on Franchising could be declared a set of rules which might be opted for by the parties to franchising contracts Europe-wide to govern their relationship. In this analysis the main obligations in franchising in PEL CAFDC are compared with those under French and Spanish law. The main conclusion of this thesis research has been that the main obligations of parties in franchising under the PEL CAFDC resemble those under French and Spanish law. Eventually, differences will arise depending on how national courts weigh the interests of the parties in each case. A second conclusion has been that a choice for the PEL CAFDC instead of for French and Spanish law could be considered a rational alternative concerning the applicable system of remedies and legal certainty.

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.

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.

ÔMark AbellÕs book argues that the European franchising market fails to reach its potential as it remains unregulated. He supports this by analysing the historical legal and economic basics and risk/attraction profiles of franchising to franchisors and franchisee, compares the European situation to the highly developed regulatory regimes in the USA and Australia, and moves through to proposing and drafting a new EU directive to bring greater certainty and stability to cross border franchising in the EU. Comprehensively researched and very detailed, this book is a worthy contribution to the literature on the subject.Õ Ð Graham Cunningham, Barrister, Hardwicke Key features of this detailed and insightful work include: ¥ Practical analysis from a leading authority in the field of franchising. ¥ Examination of the impact of both franchise specific and general commercial law upon use of franchising in the EU. ¥ Comparative legal analysis of the law of England, Germany, France, the US and Australia. ¥ Carefully constructed proposals for a franchise directive in the EU based on the vast experience of the author. ¥ A draft text for the proposed directive. The Law and Regulation of Franchising in the EU provides an in-depth analysis of the regulatory environment for franchising in the EU. Franchising in the EU comprises nearly 10,000 franchised brands and over Û215 billion (US$300 billion) turnover per annum. However, compared to its scale in the US and Australia, franchising is not realising its full potential in the EU and the author points to the lack of homogeneity across members states as a large part of the problem. The book concludes by arguing for the adoption of a draft directive, and proposes a draft directive, which promotes market confidence in franchising, provides pre-contractual hygiene and imposes a mandatory taxonomy of rights and obligations. This highly topical and comprehensive work will appeal to franchise lawyers and franchise academics as this is the first book that analyses the impact of EU and member state law upon the use of franchising in the EU.

This book is the first major study to examine the following essential questions with detailed reference to actual judicial developments: To what extent do fundamental rights affect contract law? In which types of cases can fundamental rights be applied? What does the explicit consideration of fundamental rights add to contract law adjudication? The author approaches the analysis along two different avenues: first, a comparative overview of developments in case law, and second, a more general theoretical view on the interaction between fundamental rights and rules of contract law which is tested against examples from various legal systems. The focus throughout is on developments in case law, because the impact of fundamental rights in contract law has been felt on the level of dispute resolution rather than on the level of legislation. Germany and the Netherlands are chosen because their judiciaries have been notable for their early and continuing attention to the theme, and England and Italy for perspectives on developments under common law and civil law systems respectively. For its reframing of old questions and its insightful delimitations of new ones, this book offers a fresh and deeply informed new perspective on this important area of developing law. The discussion, moreover, has received an additional impulse from the debate leading up to the recent agreement on a Reform Treaty regarding the institutional settlement of the Union, which will give a legally binding status to the Nice Charter of Fundamental Rights. For these reasons and others, the book will be of great value to all interested parties in government, business, and legal practice.

For some Western European legal systems the principle of good faith has proved central to the development of their law of contracts, while in others it has been marginalized or even rejected. This book starts by surveying the use or neglect of good faith in these legal systems and explaining its historical origins. The central part of the book takes thirty situations which would, in some legal systems, attract the application of good faith, analyses them according to fifteen national legal systems and assesses the practical significance of both the principle of good faith and its relationship to other contractual and non-contractual doctrines and forms of regulation in each situation. The book concludes by explaining how European lawyers, whether from a civil or common law background, may need to come to terms with the principle of good faith. This was the first completed project of The Common Core of European Private Law launched at the University of Trento.

As of 17 December 2010, the Rome I Regulation (EU Regulation 593/2008) on the law applicable to contractual obligations is directly applicable in all EU Member States with the exception of Denmark. The Rome I Regulation replaces the Rome Convention of 1980 in the EU Member States and will apply to all contracts concluded as of 17 December 2010. However, and herein lies the utility and great importance of this work, the Rome Convention and the Rome I Regulation will be applied in parallel for a significant time to come (the author himself anticipates a ten-to-fifteen year period); in the latter case to contracts made after 17 December, 2010. This is why this commentary takes into account both sources of law, in their mutual interaction and broader context. The comprehensiveness of the Rome Convention / Rome I Regulation is clearly apparent, but one of the great achievements of the author is his amassing of over 1,800 judicial decisions, most of which are furnished with a detailed commentary; where these decisions apply national laws, the latter are cited both in the original and in translation. For a number of rulings, the commentary include not only a case summary of the facts and an analysis of the conclusions drawn by the court, but also takes them as models to hypothesize what conclusions would be reached if the Rome I Regulation were to be applied.

This title explores the normative foundations of European contract law. It addresses fundamental political questions on contract law in Europe from the perspective of leading contemporary political theories. Does the law of contract need a democratic basis? To what extent should it be Europeanised? What justifies the binding force of contract and the main remedies for breach? When should weaker parties be protected? Should market transactions be considered legally void when they are immoral? Which rules of contract law should the parties be free to opt out of? Adopting a critical lens, this book interrogates utilitarian, liberal-egalitarian, libertarian, communitarian, civic republican, and discourse-theoretical political philosophies and analyses the answers they provide to these questions. It also situates these theoretical debates within the context of the political landscape of European contract law and the divergent views expressed by lawmakers, legal academics, and other stakeholders. This work moves beyond the acquis positivism, market reductionism, and private law essentialism that tend to dominate these conversations and foregrounds normative complexity. It explores the principles and values behind various arguments used in the debates on European contract law and its future to highlight the normative stakes involved in the practical question of what we, as a society, should do about contract law in Europe. In so doing, it opens up democratic space for the consideration of alternative futures for contract law in the European Union, and for better justifications for those parts of the EU contract law acquis we wish to retain.

With 1992 in mind, this book looks at how business can expand through franchising operations in Europe. Key information is contained within each chapter, concerning both general conditions and specific considerations in relation to a particular European country. Each of the 12 EC member states is profiled by a specialist in that particular country. Coverage includes statutory requirements, legal issues relating to competition, employment and copyright, tax and financial matters. Appendices supply the text of key EC legislature and the European Franchise Federation Code of Ethics.