General clauses or standards (Generalklauseln, clauses generales) are legal
rules which are not precisely formulated, terms and concepts which in fact do
not even have a clear core. They are often applied in varying degrees in
various legal systems to a rather wide range of contract cases when certain
issues arise issues such as abuse of rights, unfairness, good faith, fairness
of duty or loyalty or honesty, duty of care, and other such contract terms not
lending themselves readily to clear or permanent definition. Here for the
first time is a systematic discussion of this kind of rule in the evolving and
dynamic context of European contract law. A collection of twelve insightful
essays by leading European law authorities, the book is based on a conference
organized jointly by the Society of European Contract Law (SECOLA) and
l'association Henri Capitant, held in the `grande salle' of the French Supreme
Court in Paris in 2005.
The subject is approached along three distinct but interconnected avenues:
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comparative contract law, in which the different models to be found among
Member States particularly the Germanic, French, and English common law
systems are explored with an eye to differences and common ground;
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EC contract law, in which the general clause approach has tended to focus on
labour law and consumer law, and in which the European Court of Justice more
and more assumes the final say; and
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the European codification dimension, in which a potential instrument on the
European level would compete with national laws and develop closely with them.
The authors demonstrate that a focus on general clauses in contract law,
embracing as it does a wide range of types of contracts, helps enormously with
the necessary integration of legal scholarship and economic approaches, and of
legal science and legal practice in the field. Numerous analytic references to
relevant cases and EC Directives give a practical impetus to the far-reaching
but immediately applicable theory presented in this important book. As
European contract law continues to develop rapidly, this seminal contribution
is sure to increase in value and usefulness.
