Collective redress has gained momentum in Europe and North America. Legal reforms are driven by different institutional conditions but show a limited degree of convergence. In this book, seventeen contributions from the US, Canada, and the Member States of the European Union put the interplay of public enforcement and private collective judicial enforcement into perspective. The parameters of analysis are the constitutional dimension (i.e. three multi-level systems compared US, EC, and Canada, vertically: allocation of powers between levels and distinction between regulation and private law and administrative control versus judicial control; horizontally: degree of harmonization, trans-border litigation, choice of law), the institutional dimension (the players, regulatory and judges, private organization and lawyers) and the substantive dimension (regulation through administrative law versus regulation through tort or contract law, standard setting (strict liability versus negligence), remedies (injunctions and damages). These three parameters are then broken down into five sections: general comparison, the public/private enforcement divide, remedies concerning the distinction between injunction and damages as well as between class actions and group actions, negotiation and adjudication, trans-border litigation and international private law. The final chapter develops prospects to indicate the way ahead.

This book addresses the lively interaction between the disciplines of law and economics. The traditional boundaries of these two disciplines have somehow inhibited a full understanding of the functioning of and the evolution of economic and legal systems. It has often been the case that these boundaries have had to be reshaped, and sometimes abolished, before either one of the two disciplines could successfully clarify the real life problems arising from the complex institutions of contemporary societies. The contributions to this volume encompass some of the core controversial issues in law and economics arising from interactions between legal orderings and economic institutions. They include: the nature of institutional and legislative change and the emergence of strong institutional complementarity in legal positions the relationship between private orderings and the role of the State in enforcing contracts and defining property rights the nature and dynamics of endogenous enforcement and the analysis of governance models and corporate ethics. Part of the renowned Siena Studies in Political Economy series, this book will be an essential read for postgraduates and researchers in the fields of law and economics, and the economics of institutions.

This book addresses the lively interaction between the disciplines of law and economics. The traditional boundaries of these two disciplines have somehow inhibited a full understanding of the functioning of and the evolution of economic and legal systems. It has often been the case that these boundaries have had to be reshaped, and sometimes abolished, before either one of the two disciplines could successfully clarify the real life problems arising from the complex institutions of contemporary societies.

The contributions to this volume encompass some of the core controversial issues in law and economics arising from interactions between legal orderings and economic institutions. They include:

• the nature of institutional and legislative change and the emergence of strong institutional complementarity in legal positions
• the relationship between private orderings and the role of the State in enforcing contracts and defining propertyrights
• the nature and dynamics of endogenous enforcement and
• the analysis of governance models and corporate ethics.

Part of the renowned Siena Studies in Political Economy series, this book will be an essential read for postgraduates and researchers in the fields of law and economics, and the economics of institutions.

This book introduces and develops the paradigm of the organisational contract in European contract law. Suggesting that a more radical distinction should be made between contracts which regulate single or spot exchanges and contracts that organize complex economic activities without creating a new legal entity, the book argues that this distinction goes beyond that between spot and relational contracts because it focuses on the organizational dimension of contracting and its governance features. Divided into six parts, the volume brings together a group of internationally renowned experts to examine the structure of long-term contractual cooperation; networks of contracts; knowledge exchange in long-term contractual cooperation; remedies and specific governance rules in long-term relationships; and the move towards legislation. The book will be of value to academics and researchers in the areas of private law, economic theory and sociology of law, and organizational theory. It will also be a useful resource for practitioners working in international contract law and international business transaction law.

This book introduces and develops the paradigm of the organisational contract in European contract law. Suggesting that a more radical distinction should be made between contracts which regulate single or spot exchanges and contracts that organize complex economic activities without creating a new legal entity, the book argues that this distinction goes beyond that between spot and relational contracts because it focuses on the organizational dimension of contracting and its governance features. Divided into six parts, the volume brings together a group of internationally renowned experts to examine the structure of long-term contractual cooperation; networks of contracts; knowledge exchange in long-term contractual cooperation; remedies and specific governance rules in long-term relationships; and the move towards legislation. The book will be of value to academics and researchers in the areas of private law, economic theory and sociology of law, and organizational theory. It will also be a useful resource for practitioners working in international contract law and international business transaction law.

This volume explores the relationship between constitutional and regulatory questions on the one hand, and private law on the other hand, examining how European private law has developed under the influence of regional legal traditions and the EU acquis communautaire. It focuses on the multiple actors and institutions that today contribute to legal and cultural integration within a multi-level framework, involving Member States and subnational actors together with EU Institutions. It underlines the different roles of legislators, regulators and judges in building an integrated market which is consistent with fundamental rights and social policies. It also highlights the principles and institutions that may preserve national legal identities in the context of European legal and political integration, striking a difficult balance between harmonization and differentiation. Within this framework the volume questions the current boundaries of European private laws and proposes a coordinated perspective which examines competition, regulation and private law alike. The book focuses in particular on competition and consumer law, and on tort and regulation. Attention is also drawn to the strategic role to be played by private international law. It is argued that the distinction between private and public law should be redefined by acknowledging a new balance between public institutions and private parties. The collection contains several proposals for furthering the process of Europeanization of private law without losing the richness of existing western legal traditions as they have developed in previous centuries. It calls on European and national institutions to involve practitioners in devising new patterns of legal integration and in transforming European legal education. This book is an original contribution to the scholarly and policy debates about the desirability and modes of Europeanization of private law, in a context in which the pressures of globalization and of national identities seem to question the chosen path of integration.