Over the last few years increasing attention continues to be paid to the Principles of European Contract Law (otherwise known as the Principles, the Lando Principles or PECL). The drafters of the Principles presented their work in the form of articles accompanied by explanatory notes, averring that the main purpose of the instrument is to serve as a basis for a future European contract law. Can the Lando Principles, as their drafters claim, indeed offer an acceptable basis for a future European contract law? Dr. Busch, both scholar and practitioner, offers a detailed analysis, in response to this question, of the contractual aspects of indirect representation (Arts. 3:301-304 PECL). He evaluates these provisions in the light of Dutch, German, and English law, as well as with reference to the Geneva Convention on Agency in the International Sale of Goods. To introduce this important comparative study and make the background as complete as possible, this book devotes separate chapters to thorough discussions of indirect representation in Dutch law (middellijke vertegenwoordiging Arts. 7:419-421 Dutch Civil Code), in German law (mittelbare Stellvertretung) and in the English doctrine of the undisclosed principal. Lawyers in Europe and elsewhere who must deal with contract law in any connection, will find this thoroughly researched and well-thought-out text to be indispensable. Its value as a scholarly analysis can only grow with the coming years. D. Busch (b. 1974) graduated (cum laude) in Dutch law from the University of Utrecht in 1997. He attained the title of Magister Juris in European and Comparative Law at the University of Oxford (St. John's College) in 1998, and defended his dissertation in 2002 at the University of Utrecht. Until the end of 2001 he was attached as lecturer and researcher to the Molengraaff Institute of Private Law in Utrecht. Since 2002 he has worked as an attorney-at-law for the law office of De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek in Amsterdam. He has also been an honorary senior lecturer at the Molengraaff Institute since 2004. Principles of European Contract Law 3

To provide valuable legal service to persons in today's Europe, practitioners must be conversant in both national and transnational law. At the European level, the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) are an increasingly important element of contract law, together with national contract law, as contained in Civil Codes and various national statute. Accordingly, Kluwer Law International has initiated a series of volumes, under the direction of prof. Hondius of the University of Utrecht, comparing PECL with the most important European legal systems. This volume on Italian law is the second in the series. Using a straightforward comparative method, the editors¿ analysis not only reveals a significant area of convergence between the PECL and Italian contract law, but also highlights the main differences between the two bodies of rules. The reasons for these differences, both legal and non-legal (such as historical, social, economic), are clearly set forth. The book provides complete texts, with annotations, of the PECL and the corresponding Italian rules. The presentation proceeds as follows: general provisions (scope of application, general duties, terminology)formation of contracts (general provisions, offer and acceptance, liability for negotiations)authority of agents (general provisions, direct and indirect representation)validityinterpretationcontents and effectsperformancenon-performance and remedies in generalparticular remedies for non-performance (right to performance, withholding performance, termination of the contract, price reduction, damages and interest) The editors commentary includes extensive reference to case law and legal doctrine at all essential points. In this way they provide a comprehensive description of the law in action as well as its evolving trends. In addition, incisive essays by two leading experts in the field of comparative law, prof. Rodolfo Sacco and prof. Michael Joachim Bonell, analyse the relationship of the PECL and Italian law and its wider framework in the harmonisation of private law at the European and international levels. The book is a valuable handbook and guide for both foreign and Italian lawyers. For non-Italian lawyers, be they practitioners or academics, it provides a concise but complete and up-to-date outline of current Italian contract law, organized on the basis of a system (PECL) with which many European lawyers are familiar. For Italian lawyers, it offers a clearer insight into a wider European legal contract system whose importance in the evolution of a common European private law is growing rapidly. Principles of European Contract Law Series 2

The research of the Study Group on a European Civil Code seeks to advance the process of Europeanisation of private law by drafting a set of common European principles which are relevant for the functioning of the common market. The principles provide national jurisdictions with a grid reference for the future development of the law.

"The Principles of European Contract Law provides the fundamental principles of contract law shared by the legal systems of the Member States and to have a concise, comprehensive and workable statement of them. The Principles of European Contract Law Parts I & II covers the core rules of contract: formation, authority of agents, validity, interpretation, contents, performance, non-performance and remedies. The subjects dealt with in Part III are: plurality of debtors and creditors, assignment, substitution of new debtor and transfer of contract, set-off, prescription, illegality, conditions and capitalization of interest. The Principles 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 organisations. 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. A particularly valuable feature is that each article also has extensive comparative notes surveying the national laws and other international provisions on the topic. No self-respecting contract lawyer in Europe can afford to ignore the Lando Principles. They are not only a useful and convenient source of information about current laws in the countries of the European Union but also a possible blueprint for the contract part of a future European civil code. They are a touchstone against which any discussion of contract law can be tested."

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.

This volume offers proposed Articles, followed by comments and information. Topics include: plurality of debtors and creditors, assignment, substitution of new debtor and transfer of contract, set- off, prescription, illegality, and conditions and capitalisation of interest.

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 book provides rule-by-rule commentaries on European contract law (general contract law, consumer contract law, the law of sale and related services), dealing with its modern manifestations as well as its historical and comparative foundations. After the collapse of the European Commission's plans to codify European contract law it is timely to reflect on what has been achieved over the past three to four decades, and for an assessment of the current situation. In particular, the production of a bewildering number of reference texts has contributed to a complex picture of European contract laws rather than a European contract law. The present book adopts a broad perspective and an integrative approach. All relevant reference texts (from the CISG to the Draft Common European Sales Law) are critically examined and compared with each other. As far as the acquis commun (ie the traditional private law as laid down in the national codifications) is concerned, the Principles of European Contract Law have been chosen as a point of departure. The rules contained in that document have, however, been complemented with some chapters, sections, and individual provisions drawn from other sources, primarily in order to account for the quickly growing acquis communautaire in the field of consumer contract law. In addition, the book ties the discussion concerning the reference texts back to the pertinent historical and comparative background; and it thus investigates whether, and to what extent, these texts can be taken to be genuinely European in nature, ie to constitute a manifestation of a common core of European contract law. Where this is not the case, the question is asked whether, and for what reasons, they should be seen as points of departure for the further development of European contract law.

This title uses contemporary political theories to address fundamental questions on European contract law. It also places these theories in the context of the current European contract law landscape. This book highlights future options for contract law in the EU, and how it may need to change.

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.