One of the principal tasks for legal research at the beginning of the 21st century is to reconstruct the understanding of the relationship between the legal system and the market order. After almost three decades of deregulation, driven by a belief in the self-equilibrating properties of the market, the financial crisis of 2008 has reminded everyone of the fundamental truth that markets have legal and institutional foundations, without which they cannot effectively function. The chapters in the present volume are the result of the work by a group of legal scholars which began in mid-2000, at a time when the shortcomings of deregulatory policies were becoming clear in a number of contexts. The chapters address the question of how the language of contract law describes or conceptualizes the market order and the relationship of the law to it. The perspectives taken are, in turn, historical, comparative, and context-specific. The focus of the book is on a foundational idea, the concept of capacitas, which signifies a status conferred upon citizens for the purpose of enabling them to participate in the economic life of the polity. In modern legal systems, 'capacity' is the principal juridical mechanism by which individuals and entities are empowered to enter into legally binding agreements and, more generally, to arrange their affairs using the instruments of private law. Legal capacity is thereby the gateway to involvement in the operations of a market economy. With essays on the relationship of the law and markets, this book will be of interest to scholars of contract law, economics, and regulation.

For developing countries, a stable and secure supply of electricity is crucial for industrial and commercial development, and for the well-being of their populations. Since the early 1990s, the main mechanism for constructing power generation facilities in developing countries has been the independent power project (IPP) model, where a foreign private entity enters into long term investment contracts with host government entities. This model has succeeded in attracting investment, but raises complex regulatory and contractual challenges in addition to public concerns. This book - drawing on project contracts, available information about relevant contractual practices (including private interview sources), case law from disputes between investors and host countries, and literature commenting on the legal and economic aspects of the investment's structure - analyzes the IPP model's consequences for development. The author identifies six main consequences for development: * The IPP model has led to private investment, which has increases reliability, modernization and introduced private standards; * It contains an intrinsic structural weakness in times of economic downturns; * It has shown a tendency to lead to overinvestment in generation capacity; * It has shown a tendency to lead to to expensive and suboptimal solutions regarding choice of design and technology; * The model (and its institutional surroundings) contains insufficient disincentives against moral hazard and exploitative behavior (including corruption); and * The IPP model does not facilitate the further development of the host country's power sector. The author argues that these consequences for development can be improved without detrimentally compromising the private sector's willingness to continue to invest. While pursuing this analysis, the author also explores such issues as the following: * the web of parties and contracts constituting the IPP model; * the extent of the host country's legal obligations; * the private investors' legal investment protection, including political risk insurance; * the aggregate allocation of risk and responsibility,including to what extent foreign investors also are protected . against commercial and credit risks; * the competing needs of predictability and flexibility; * how the IPP model, and its institutional surroundings, have reacted to nummerable and * credible allegations of corruption during procurement * the role an investor's home government including its national export credit institution; * incentives as catalysts of moral hazard, observable in Indonesia's IPP program; and * identification of factors reducing, or increasing, the IPP model's tendency to fail during severe economic recessions

In this book, leading scholars from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States deal with important theoretical and practical issues in the law of contract and closely-related areas of private law. The articles analyse developments in the law of estoppel, mistake, undue influence, the interpretation of contracts, assignment, exclusion clauses and damages. The articles also address more theoretical issues such as discerning the limits of contract law, the role of principle in the development of contract doctrine and the morality of promising. With its rich scope of contributors and topics, Exploring Contract Law will be highly useful to lawyers, judges and academics across the common law world. Contributors: Rick Bigwood, Richard Bronaugh, Mindy Chen-Wishart, Helge Dedek, Gerald H L Fridman, Mark P Gergen, Andrew S Gold, Kelvin F K Low, Jason W Neyers, Stephen G A Pitel, Andrew Roberston, Stephen A Smith, Robert Stevens, Andrew Tettenborn, Chee Ho Tham, Catherine Valcke, Stephen Waddams, Charlie Webb. Foreword by Justice Ian Binnie of the Supreme Court of Canada

The 2005 Avant-projet de reforme du droit des obligations et de la prescription, also dubbed the Avant-projet Catala, suggests the most far-reaching reform of the French Civil code since it came into force in 1804. It reviews central aspects of contract law, the law of delict and the law of unjustified enrichment. There is currently a very lively debate in France as to the merits or the demerits of both the particular draft provisions and the general idea of recodification as such. This volume is the first publication to introduce the reform proposals to an English speaking audience. It contains the official English translation of the text, and distinguished private lawyers from both England and France analyse and assess particularly interesting aspects of the substantive draft provisions in a comparative perspective. Topics covered include negotiation and renegotiation of contracts, la cause, the enforcement of contractual obligations, termination of contract and its consequences, the effects of contracts on third parties, the definition of la faute, the quantification of damages, and the law of prescription. The volume also contains an overall assessment of the draft provisions by one of the most senior French judges who chaired the Working Party on the Avant-projet, established by the French Supreme Court, the Cour de cassation. The book is indispensable for comparative private lawyers and lawyers with a particular interest in French law. It is also of use to all private lawyers (both academics and practitioners) looking for information on recent international and European trends in contract and tort.

This book examines the role of unjust enrichment in the contractual context, defined as contracts which are (a) terminated for breach, or (b) subsisting, or (c) unenforceable. The book makes three claims in relation to the orthodox common law account of restitution (founded on unjust enrichment) in the contractual context. Firstly, the orthodox account correctly proceeds on the basis that the restitutionary claim in the contractual context is founded on an independent cause of action in unjust enrichment, rather than some equitable notion of unconscientiousness or the law of contract. Secondly, the book departs from the orthodox account by rejecting the unjust factors approach and endorsing the absence of basis approach for the law of unjust enrichment. Finally, the book argues that the right to restitution in the contractual context should be determined by the conditionality of the transfer of the benefit rather than a requirement such as the termination of the contract, as the orthodox account dictates. To that end the book proposes the following model, under which the right to restitution in the contractual context is determined by the resolution of the following two questions: (1) Was the transfer of the benefit (eg of money or services) conditional? (2) Was there a qualifying failure of condition? A condition can be, and often is, the other contracting party's counter-performance, but it may also be an event not promised by either party. What qualifies as a failure of condition depends on the type of contract in question. This book identifies two types of contracts, namely those which are apportioned (eg instalment contracts) and those which are unapportioned. It is only in relation to the latter that termination is required. It is a particular strength of the book that it is underpinned by detailed and original historical analysis which makes a novel and distinct contribution to the history of the laws of unjust enrichment and contract. 'Dr Baloch has produced the definitive study of the inter-relationship between contract and unjust enrichment. This has been achieved by carefully considering the historical roots of our common law, and how this is to be understood in its best light in the modern era.' Robert H Stevens, University College, London. 'Dr Baloch's exploration of the boundary between contractual and unjust enrichment liability in the 17th to 19th centuries has important things to say about the history of ideas of 'contract' in this period.' Mike Macnair, Oxford University. 'This is an innovative and rigorous book which engages with one of the most difficult areas in the law of unjust enrichment, namely the relationship between the law of unjust enrichment and the law of contract. Baloch roots his treatment of the modern law in its history and the historical analysis throughout is very careful and well grounded in the primary sources.' David Ibbetson, Cambridge University. 'This is a valuable book, thoughtful and well researched. It is concerned to build a model that fits comfortably with the cases, and its focus is on the work of modern commentators. Those concerned with the relationship of contract and the law of restitution whether at a theoretical level or in practice will benefit by careful study of what Dr Baloch has to say, whether or not they agree with it.' Jack Beatson, Royal Courts of Justice, 14 February 2009 (From the foreword)

Civil law and common law systems are held to enforce promises differently: civil law, in principle, will enforce any promise, while common law will enforce only those with 'consideration'. In that respect, modern civil law supposedly differs from the Roman law from which it descended, where a promise was enforced depending on the type of contract the parties had made. This 2001 volume is concerned with the extent to which these characterizations are true, and how these and other differences affect the enforceability of promises. Beginning with a concise history of these distinctions, the volume then considers how twelve European legal systems would deal with fifteen concrete situations. Finally, a comparative section considers why legal systems enforce certain promises and not others, and what promises should be enforced. This is the second completed project of The Common Core of European Private Law launched at the University of Trento.

Unclear contracts are common, and a large number of litigated cases in the U.S. require clarification of the parties' agreement. The process of clarifying an unclear contract involves three legal tasks. A judge must first identify the terms to be interpreted, then must determine whether the terms are ambiguous and encompass the rival interpretations advanced by the parties. Finally, if the terms are ambiguous, a finder of fact must resolve the ambiguity by choosing between the rival interpretations. Performing these tasks often involves the question of what evidence may be considered. Further, the courts may decide contract interpretation issues based on the agreement's literal terms, or the parties' objective or subjective intentions.
Steven J. Burton's undertaking in Elements of Contract Interpretation is a comprehensive treatment of these issues. By identifying the concrete and legally provable elements that contract interpreters may use, he has written an invaluable resource for both practitioners and scholars alike. This book also proposes an optimal law of contract interpretation for the courts' consideration.

This 2005 examination of twelve case studies about mistake, fraud and duties to inform reveals significant differences about how contract law works in thirteen European legal systems and, despite the fact that the solutions proposed are often similar, what divergent values underlie the legal rules. Whereas some jurisdictions recognise increasing duties to inform in numerous contracts so that the destiny of mistake and fraud (classical defects of consent) may appear to be uncertain, other jurisdictions continue to refuse such duties as a general rule or fail to recognise the need to protect one of the parties where there is an imbalance in bargaining power or information. Avoiding preconceptions as to where and why these differences exist, this book first examines the historical origins and development of defects of consent, then considers the issues from a comparative and critical standpoint.

Contract plays a vitally important role in the delivery of public services today. Both central and local governments make extensive use of private firms to provide facilities, goods, and services. Government contracts vary considerably from the relatively straightforward competitive procurement of office supplies, to complex, long-term arrangements in which the contractor researches and develops a new piece of military equipment, or builds and provides a fully-serviced hospital over a thirty-year period.

English law's traditional approach to government contracts has been to regard them as ordinary private law arrangements. As a result, they have understandably been neglected by public lawyers in both teaching and research. This book argues that, on closer inspection, constitutional and administrative law (in the form of statute, common law, and government guidance) have been playing an increasingly important role in the regulation of certain key aspects of government contracting. The book analyzes these public law elements in detail and suggests ways in which they might appropriately be developed more fully, in tandem with the underlying private law regime. The book's aim is to raise the profile of government contracts as a proper subject for public law scholarship, whilst at the same time contributing to important contemporary debates on issues such as the public vs. private divide, the scope of the judicial review jurisdiction, and the reach of the Human Rights Act 1998.

Our modern insistence on democratic social values has engendered an intense debate over the intersection of fundamental rights and contract law. In particular, case law in several European national jurisdictions has exerted significant pressure on traditional contract law instruments to conform more transparently with the fundamental rights enshrined in the EC Charter. This pressure is clearly evident in a number of societal areas subject to contract law, among them employment, housing, and privacy. It can even be argued, as this author does, that fundamental rights intermediate between politics and law.Taking its cue from many initiatives toward the development of a more coherent, even harmonised, European contract law, this book is the first major study to examine the following essential questions with detailed reference to actual judicial developments: To what extent do fundamental rights affect contract law? In which types of cases can fundamental rights be applied? What does the explicit consideration of fundamental rights add to contract law adjudication? The author approaches the analysis along two different avenues: first, a comparative overview of developments in case law, and second, a more general theoretical view on the interaction between fundamental rights and rules of contract law which is tested against examples from various legal systems. The focus throughout is on developments in case law, because the impact of fundamental rights in contract law has been felt on the level of dispute resolution rather than on the level of legislation.Germany and the Netherlands are chosen because their judiciaries have been notable for their early and continuing attention to the theme, and England and Italy for perspectives on developments under common law and civil law systems respectively. For its reframing of old questions and its insightful delimitations of new ones, this book offers a fresh and deeply informed new perspective on this important area of developing law. The discussion, moreover, has received an additional impulse from the debate leading up to the recent agreement on a Reform Treaty regarding the institutional settlement of the Union, which will give a legally binding status to the Nice Charter. For these reasons and others, the book will be of great value to all interested parties in government, business, and legal practice.

In August 2006, the third Australian Obligations Conference was hosted in Brisbane by the TC Beirne School of Law. The theme of the Conference was Justifying Private Law Remedies. This book contains a number of the papers delivered at that Conference, presented under several categories but all dealing with the fundamental issue of justification: General Concepts; Performance; Compensation; Punishment; and Restitution and Disgorgement.The authors are largely drawn from the legal academy, and include Canadian, Australian, British and New Zealand scholars. The collection will be of interest to all those concerned with the role, nature and place of remedies in the private law of the common law world.This book examines the wider role and function of the law of remedies. The contributors are leading scholars from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Britain. It will be of interest to contract, tort and restitution law scholars.

Two major developments in European Private and European Business Law come together when we speak about "Constitutional Values and European Contract Law." European Contract Law has become extremely dynamic over the last 10 years, both in substance and perspective: all core areas are considered now in legal science and in EC legislation, and there are even the prospects of some kind of codification.
On the other hand, constitutional values and their impact on private law have been an issue of high concern in major Member States over decades, namely Italy and Germany, but as well the Netherlands - hence the strong presence of scholars and practising lawyers from these countries in this book. Constitutional values have, however, found their way to the EC level and the national discussions have inspired a European one, with three core values discussed:
- Fundamental Freedoms,
- Fundamental rights and
- Constitutional system building principles- such as the social welfare state or the rule of law.
Their impact on private law can be sensed nowadays quite considerably also on the European level. These fundamental values are often seen as the ingredient, which renders European Private Law, namely European Contract Law, more responsive to social values or more "humane."
For all these reasons, the book combines comparative law, EC Law and interdisciplinary approaches to the question "Constitutional Values and European Contract Law." Outstanding scholars from six Member States and beyond - quite a few also practising lawyers - discuss the issue and do so for the first time on such a broad and all encompassing basis.

This book is a collection of essays examining the remedy of contract damages in the common law and under the international contract law instruments such as the Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sales of Goods and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts. The essays, written by leading experts in the area, raise important and topical issues relating to the law of contract damages from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The book aims to inform readers of current developments, problems, trends and debates surrounding contract damages and reflects an ongoing dialogue on damages among representatives of common law, civil law, mixed and trans-national legal systems. The general issues addressed in the collection include the purpose and scope of damages, the measures of damages, recoverability of losses, methods of limiting damages and the assessment of damages. A special emphasis is placed on the examination of the role of gain-based damages, the meaning and definition of loss, the recoverability of damages for injury to business reputation, the recoverability of legal fees, the rules of mitigation and foreseeability, the dilemma between the 'abstract' and 'concrete' approaches to the calculation of damagesand the relationship between changes in monetary value and the assessment of damages.

Landmark Cases in the Law of Contract offers twelve original essays by leading contract scholars. As with the essays in the companion volume, Landmark Cases in the Law of Restitution (Hart, 2006) each essay takes as its focus a particular leading case, and analyses that case in its historical or theoretical context. The cases range from the early eighteenth - to the late twentieth - centuries, and deal with an array of contractual doctrines. Some of the essays call for their case to be stripped of its landmark status, whilst others argue that it has more to offer than we have previously appreciated. The particular historical context of these landmark cases, as revealed by the authors, often shows that our current assumptions about the case and what it stands for are either mistaken, or require radical modification. The book also explores several common themes which are fundamental to the development of the law of contract: for instance, the influence of commercial expectations, appeals to 'reason' and the significance of particular judicial ideologies and techniques.This book contains a collection of new and original articles on the famous contract cases. It includes contributions from well-established scholars analysing both current and historical aspects of contract law. The analysis of the cases will be of interest to barristers, academics and judges.

Professor Ewoud Hondius has been one of the most successful architects of comparative law research and education in The Netherlands. He has undertaken numerous efforts to advocate the unification and harmonisation of private law by means of comparative studies which during his career have been welcomed all over the world. His understanding of the law of many jurisdictions is exceptional and his global network is impressive. He is a great European legal scholar and an ambassador for Dutch law, as witnessed by the innumerable publications which he has authored. This book, in honour of Professor Ewoud Hondius, has been compiled in order to appropriately admire his inspiring contributions to the elaboration of European contract law. The general topic of The Future of European Contract Law has been divided into five themes, many of them coinciding with the special interests of the honoured scholar himself:
- European Contract Law: its Possibility, Feasibility and Desirability
- The Common Frame of Reference and the Principles of Contract Law
- The Europeanization of National Contract Law
- The Better Law Approach in European Contract Law
- Consumer Contracts in Europe
The wealth of material in this book contains a treasure of observations and visions on where contract law in Europe currently stands as well as on how it should develop in the future. A collection of outstanding authors have contributed to this book. As a result it represents the current legal scholarship in the field of European contract law and hence the book is bound to be of great value, not only to academics, but also to lawyers involved in cross-border practice such as international business andconsumer transactions.

Underground construction is more complex than ever. Demand for space is increasing, new technologies are constantly evolving, and more stakeholders are asserting influence. Yet one of the most challenging and frustrating characteristics of underground construction remains: often, contract language does not account for the unique nature of building underground.

Recommended Contract Practices for Underground Construction is the first industry-wide effort to improve contract procedures in more than 30 years. Commissioned by the Underground Construction Association of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, this manual is an indispensable resource for contractors, consultants, suppliers, and owners anticipating underground projects. The authors suggest better practices during all stages of a project, when decisions are made that can affect the contract positively or negatively.

Part one focuses on the practices and disciplines that build the foundation for effective contracts during the early phases of a project. Part two discusses best practices for contract provisions, payment mechanisms, and dispute resolution.

By following these recommendations, you'll reduce the mistrust and costly disputes that often arise from the contract process. The result will be improved relationships, better contracts, and, most importantly, projects that are most cost-effective for owners and more profitable for contractors.

The Study Group on a European Civil Code has taken upon itself the task of drafting common European principles for the most important aspects of the law of obligations and for certain parts of the law of property in movables which are especially relevant for the functioning of the common market.
Like the Commission on European Contract Law's "Principles of European Contract Law," the results of the research conducted by the Study Group on a European Civil Code seek to advance the process of Europeanization of private law. Among other topics the series tackles sales and service contracts, distribution contracts and security rights, renting contracts and loan agreements, negotiorum gestio, delicts and unjustified enrichment law, transfer of property, and trust law.
The principles furnish each of the national jurisdictions a grid of reference. They can be agreed upon by the parties within the framework of the rules of private international law. They may provide a stimulus to both the national and European legislator for molding private law. Beyond this, they aim to further discussion about the creation of a European Civil Code, or a Common Frame of Reference in the area of patrimonial law, by submitting a concrete model.
The "Principles of European Law" are published in co-operation with Bruylant (Belgium), Oxford University Press (United Kingdom) and Staempfli Publishers Ltd. (Switzerland).

In this book, the author analyses the law and practice relating to the classification, drafting, validity and enforcement of contracts relating to jurisdiction and choice of law. The focus is on English law, EU law and common law measures, but there is also some comparative material built in. The book will be useful in particular to practising lawyers seeking to draft, interpret or enforce the types of contract discussed, but the in-depth discussion will also be valuable to academic lawyers specialising in private international law. Written by an academic who is also a practising barrister, this book gives in-depth coverage of how the instruments and principles of private international law can be used for the resolution of cross-border or multi-jurisdictional disputes. It examines the operation and application of the Brussels Regulation, the Rome Convention and the Hague Convention on Exclusive Choice of Court Agreements in such disputes, but also discusses the judgments and decisions of the courts in significant cases such as Turner v Grovit, Union Discount v Zoller, and De Wolf v Cox. Much of the book is given over to practical evaluation of how agreements on jurisdiction and choice of law should be put together, with guidance on, amongst other things, drafting of the agreements (including some sample clauses), severability of agreements, consent, and the resolution of disputes by arbitration.

Although the law of contract is largely settled, there appears to be no widely-accepted comprehensive theory of its main principles and doctrines or of its normative basis. Contract law theory raises issues concerning the relation between law and morality, the role and the importance of rights, the connection between justice and economics, and the distinction between private and public law. This collection of six full-length essays, written by some of the most eminent scholars in the field, explores the general theory of contract law from a variety of theoretical perspectives. The volume addresses a wide range of issues, both methodological and substantive, in the theory and practice of contract law. While the essays build upon past theoretical contributions, they also attempt to take contract theory further and suggest promising ways to develop theory of contract law.

This book contains the papers written for the seventh volume in the Oxford-Norton Rose Law Colloquium Series, which was held in St Hugh's College, Oxford, on 22nd-23rd September, 2006. As with past colloquia, this brought together practitioners (solicitors, barristers and Judges) and academics to examine and discuss an area of commercial law. The belief underpinning all the colloquia has been that the sharing of views on central topics of commercial law can only work to the mutual advantage of both academics and practitioners. The topic chosen this year was Contract Terms which is a topic of everyday importance to all commercial lawyers. It is also an area in which academics have become increasingly interested in recent years.
The book begins with an introduction by the editors which draws out the central features of the discussions at the colloquium. It is followed by an introductory practitioners' perspective written by Richard Calnan of Norton Rose.
The colloquium papers have then been divided into three main sections. The first on 'Construction and Interpretation' comprises the papers written by Gerard McMeel, Edwin Peel, Andrew Burrows, Robert Stevens and Stefan Vogenauer. The second on 'Legislative Control of Unfair Terms' has papers by Elizabeth MacDonald, Susan Bright and Hugh Beale. The third on 'Issues Related to Particular Types of Term' looks at entire agreement clauses, termination clauses, force majeure clauses, retention of title clauses and choice of law clauses. This third section contains chapters written by John Cartwright, Ewan McKendrick, Simon Whittaker, Louise Gullifer and Adrian Briggs.
The papers have all been written by eminent academics andtogether they provide a stimulating and up-to-date examination of Contract Terms. The book will be essential reading for all practitioners involved in drafting contracts or in commercial litigation, commercial barristers, and academics interested in contract and commercial law. The foreword has been written by the senior Law Lord, Lord Bingham of Cornhill.

Boilerplate, the fine print of standard contracts, is more prevalent than ever in commercial trade and in electronic commerce. But what is in it, beyond legal technicalities? Why is it so hard to read and why is it often so one-sided? Who writes it, who reads it, and what effect does it have? The studies in this volume question whether boilerplate is true contract. Does it resemble a statute? Is it a species of property? Should we think of it as a feature of the product we buy? Does competition improve boilerplate? Looking at the empirical reality in which various boilerplates operate, leading private law experts reveal subtle and previously unrecognized ways in which boilerplate clauses encourage information flow, but also reduce it; how new boilerplate terms are produced, and how innovation in boilerplate is stifled; how negotiation happens in the shadow of boilerplate, and how it is subdued. They offer a new explanation as to why boilerplate is often so one-sided. With emphasis on empiricism and economic thinking, this volume provides a more nuanced understanding of the 'DNA' of market contracts, the boilerplate terms.

Principles of Irish Contract Law is a new addition to the "Principles" series. This book is the ideal source for undergraduate law students and all those interested in the study of contract law. Although this book is student-focused, outlining and explaining the main tenets of Irish Contract law, many legal practitioners will undoubtedly find this text as a great source to re-acquaint themselves with the subject. Principles of Irish Contract Law emphasises the theory behind contract law, demystifying difficult concepts and providing a policy-driven introduction to this challenging subject. The key cases are fully discussed in a manner which encourages students to approach the subject from a critical standpoint. Cases from other jurisdictions, especially the United States, are also discussed. The book is highly accessible and combines an informal analytical style with useful learning features such as diagrams and tables. The final two chapters focus on study and exam skills and include worked problem answers.

The ongoing debate on the harmonisation of European contract law has metamorphosed into an important recognition: that none of the existing national systems of contract law, even the most 'modern,' have been able to keep pace with the extensive and radical changes in the world which contract law must reflect. The nineteen outstanding contributors to this deeply insightful book concur in envisioning a fundamentally new systematic concept of contract law that, while preserving the essential 'architecture' of the existing European codes, would nonetheless find cogent ways to integrate such modern developments as mass transactions, chains and networks of contracts, regulation of markets and contracts to protect consumers, and service and long-term contracts into an optional European code. The book is organised along three major avenues: the systematic arrangement of a contract law code - how it deals with core questions of formation and performance or breach of contract, such as mistake and misrepresentation, standard contract terms, and remedies in the case of breach of contract; the apparent necessity to merge consumer contract law (i.e., such issues as product safety and liability, warranties, and consumer debt and insolvency) with traditional core contract law concepts; and, the importance to substantive contract law of the pre-contractual phase, in which information duties are becoming steadily more paramount. The authors' perspectives cover a wide range of jurisdictions, including new EU Member States. The book's overall commitment to an integration of comparative law, EC law, and the debate on European codification gives it both an authority and an immediacy that offer interested practitioners and academics fertile ground for the development of a new model of contract law that is more than a common denominator of what has been in force so far, a model which might serve as a basis for Europe-wide and perhaps even worldwide discussion.

This book charts the significant increase in Britain over the last 25 years in the deployment of contract as a regulatory mechanism across a broad spectrum of social relationships. Since Labour came to power in 1997 the trend has accelerated, the use of contract spreading beyond the sphere of economics into public administration and social policy. The 'new public contracting' is the term given this distinctive mode of governance, characterized by the delegation of contractual powers and responsibilities to public agencies in regulatory frameworks preserving central government controls and powers of intervention. In many cases the contracts are not legally enforceable, their power as regulatory instruments deriving from the hierarchical authority relations in which they are embedded. Examples of the new public contracting include the regulation of relationships between government departments through Public Service Agreements and Framework Documents; the regulation of relationships between individual citizens and the state through Youth Offender Contracts, Parenting Contracts, and Jobseekers Agreements; the funding of public infrastructure projects through Public Private Partnerships; and the restructuring of key public service sectors such as health, social care and education through contracts in competitive quasi-markets, reflecting the Government's privatization agenda. The book critically analyzes and evaluates such contractual arrangements with reference to theories of relational contract and responsive regulation. It argues that while in business and other private relations contract routinely enables the parties to regulate and adjust their on-going relationships to mutual benefit, this is often not the case in the new public contracting. In many instances crucial elements of trust, voluntariness, and reciprocity are shown to be lacking. This and other weaknesses in regulatory design are likely to impede the attainment of the Government's policy objectives. The book demonstrates the problems of ineffectiveness and lack of legitimacy generally associated with this mode of regulation, and specifies institutional and other conditions that need to be satisfied for the more responsive governance of these public service functions.