1. The Draft Common Frame of Reference – background and contents
Kåre Lilleholt, University of Oslo

2. Draft Common Frame of Reference
Principles, Definitions and Model Rules of European Private Law
Prepared by the Study Group on a European Civil Code and the Acquis Group
Interim Outline Edition

3. Background Academic projects on European private law
Political ”action plan” on European contract law

4. Academic groups Commission on European Law (Lando Commission)
Study Group on a European Civil Code
Acquis Group
Other groups

5. Political process European Parliament
European Council Tampere 1999 (requested ”an overall study”)
Commission
communication 2001 ”on European contract law”
communication 2003 ”a more coherent European contract law – an action plan”

6. CoPecl – Joint Network on European Private Law
Study Group
Acquis Group
Insurance Group
Association Henri Capitant
Economic Impact Group
Database Group
Academy of European Law

7. CFR-Net Workshops Stakeholders
Eventually concentration on consumer law
Revised plan

8. Commission’s present position
COM(2007) 447 final
Priority to consumer contract acquis review
”The Commission [-] considers the CFR a better regulation instrument. … Its scope is not a large scale harmonisation of private law or a European civil code.”

9. Parliament’s present position
Resolution 12 December 2007
”Reiterates its strong support for an approach based on a wider CFR on general contract-law issues going beyond the field of consumer protection …
Reiterates its request to the Commission that all the various possible options regarding the purpose and legal form of a future CFR instrument, including an optional instrument, should be kept open …”

10. The DCFR
Black letter rules
Comments
Comparative notes

11. Outline Book I General provisions
Book II Contracts and other juridical acts
Book III Obligations and corresponding rights
Book IV Specific contracts and the rights and obligations arising from them
Book V Benevolent intervention in another’s affairs

12. Outline (ctd.)
Book VI Non-contractual liability arising out of damage caused to another
Book VII Unjustified enrichment
Forthcoming:
Book VIII Acquisition and loss of ownership in movables
Book IX Proprietary security rights in movable assets
Book X Trusts

13. Relationship with PECL
Expansion and some deviations
From contract law to law of obligations?
A more ”theoretical” approach?

14. II. – 1:101: Definitions
(1) A contract is an agreement which gives rise to, or is intended to give rise to, a binding legal relationship or which has, or is intended to have, some other legal effect. It is a bilateral or multilateral juridical act.

15. (2) A juridical act is any statement or agreement or declaration of intention, whether express or implied from conduct, which has or is intended to have legal effect as such. It may be unilateral, bilateral or multilateral.

16. What happened to ”good faith and fair dealing”
PECL art. 1:201
”Each party must act in accordance with good faith and fair dealing.”
DCFR III.–1:103(3)
”Breach of the duty does not give rise directly to the remedies for nonperformance of an obligation … ”

17. Character of the DCFR Principles Definitions Model rules Purposes
possible model for a political CFR
academic text
possible source of inspiration

18. Core aims of European private law (as stated in the text)
Justice, freedom, protection of human rights, economic welfare, solidarity and social responsibility
Promotion of internal market, preservation of cultural and linguistic plurality
Rationality, legal certainty, predictability, efficiency

19. Legitimacy?
Competence of the EU
Legitimacy of academic projects

20. Desirabilty of harmonisation
Promote cross-border transactions, integration of the internal market
Needed by business?
Law as part of national culture

21. Methodology
Basis for harmonisation
EU law or European law?

22. Political effects Welfare and social justice – or market integration?
Codification as stagnation of change?
Are the projects biassed (consumer friendly – or the other way round)?