How to build European private law: an economic analysis of the lawmaking and harmonization dimensions in European private law

Abstract

In the process of building a European Private Law, the lawmaking and harmonization dimensions-the modes of harmonization and even more, the scope and reach of the harmonizing effect of the European rules-appear as crucial issues. We show how the harmonization strategy is as important a question as whether we should have European Private Law at all. We present an economic discussion of the different modes of harmonizing Private Law in the abstract, and how they are likely to differently affect outcomes. We also present in informal terms a simple economic model of how to build optimal harmonized rules and standards in a setting of preexisting separate and diverse national ones, and we systematically explore how the different harmonization regimes (maximum harmonization, minimum harmonization, and pure co-existence of harmonized and national standards) affect the outcomes of the harmonization process.

Convergence of Legal Rules: Comparing Cooperative and Non-Cooperative Processes

“…In this connection, we pay attention to the proposal by the European Commission of introducing an optional Common European Sales Law for Europe (see, Ganuza and Gomez, 2013;Gomez and Ganuza, 2012). We also give some rational to the use, in some circumstances, of full harmonization to achieve legal convergence.…”

“…The model of the present paper is more in line with the approach of Gomez and Ganuza (2012), where countries, rather than firms, choose the laws. But in fact, we can consider that when firms of a given country choose a new law, everything is as if this choice were made by the lawmakers of this country.…”

“…This proposal has been studied by Ganuza and Gomez (2013) and Gomez and Ganuza (2012). 19 Ganuza and Gomez (ibid) consider a model where firms can choose between different national contract laws and an optional European law.…”

“…The main difference, however, between the models of Ganuza and Gomez (2012) and Ganuza and Gomez (2013) and our's is that we allow more choices for countries. 22 Here, the relevant choice is not only between the prevailing national laws and the optional instrument.…”

Promoting trade through private law: Explaining international legal harmonization

“…private-law harmonization disregard the public-law measures that states employ to increase cross-border commercial activity (Garoupa and Ogus 2006;Gomez and Ganuza 2012). In short, trade scholars have been looking at a certain part of the picture, whereas legal scholars have seen the other part.…”