This volume contains 14 national reports and the General Report on the use of comparative law by courts, which were presented at the XIVth International Congress of Comparative Law in Athens. It provides a general survey of the frequency and methods of a comparative recourse to foreign law by courts, describing both the methods of such recourse and the typical fields in which it is undertaken. The reports offer a cross-section of contemporary court practice from a wide variety of countries around the world - large and small, unitary and federal, and with differing historical backgrounds. All these varied elements have an impact on the needs of national courts to look to foreign law for inspiration or as a model for dealing with new, unsettled issues of national law, and the reports illustrate well the impact of divergent traditions, attitudes and surrounding circumstances. Of special interest are both the role of comparative law and the comparative method employed in the practice of a supranational court, such as the European Court of Justice. In addition to the General Report, this volume contains national reports from the following countries: Canada, European Union, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States of America.

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 Europeanisation 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 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 moulding 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), Sellier. European Law Publishers (Germany) and Staempfli Publishers Ltd. (Switzerland).