Private Law in the European Union

In the twenty-second lecture in the series Forum Internationale, Professor Ulrich Drobnig, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and Private International Law, expounds on the future role of private law within the European Union.

<p class=copymedium>The author first provides a succinct, yet comprehensive and well documented, bird's-eye view of the current state of European private law, and then looks to the lessons that can be learned from forty years of legislative experience on the European level.

<p class=copymedium>The analytic survey covers European company law, general commercial law, intellectual property, personal property, consumer protection, labour law, tort law, civil procedure and private international law, noting that while the degree of regulation and harmonization varies, broad progress has been achieved in particular in the fields of company law and intellectual property.

<p class=copymedium>After examining the various schools of thought criticizing or supporting European legislation or codification, the lecture concludes with proposals for a long-term model based on a `slender concept' of European private law limited to border-crossing transactions and acts.