The Constitutional Foundations of European Contract Law: A Comparative Analysis

Situated within the context of the ongoing debate about European contract law, this book provides a detailed examination of the European Union’s competence in the field of contract law.

It analyses the limits of Union competence in relation to several relevant Treaty provisions which potentially confer competence on the Union to adopt a comprehensive contract law instrument and the exercise of Union competence in connection with the operation of the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality and sincere cooperation. It also explores the viability of several alternative and complementary routes to the adoption of such an instrument, such as enhanced cooperation, an intergovernmental treaty and certain so-called softer models which include the American techniques of Restatements, uniform and model laws and the Uniform Commercial Code.

Setting forth a detailed account of the context for this debate and its chronological development at the European level, the book charts the discussions that have occurred within and outside the EU relating to the transnational competence to regulate contract law. Situating European constitutional law within the continued debate about European contract law, it also reflects upon the contract law structure of the United States and examines the viability of alternative and complementary routes to the adoption of a comprehensive instrument of substantive contract law.

Kathleen Gutman, Senior Affiliated Researcher, Institute for European Law of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Dr. Kathleen Gutman is an American-trained lawyer specialising in EU and International Law and the comparative study of EU-US law. She has been awarded several advanced legal degrees from American and European institutions, including a J.D./LL.M. in International, Foreign, and Comparative Law from Duke University School of Law, as well as a M.A. in European Studies and a Ph.D. in Law from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. She has also worked as a summer associate in the Brussels office of Van Bael & Bellis and as a litigation associate in the New York office of Jones Day.