Contractual remedies aimed at performance create a well-known rift between common law and civil law traditions, in the one existing in the shadow of damages, while in the other regarded as a generally enforceable right following from the contract. Developments in approximation of laws in Europe, in particular in consumer sales law, suggest however that a convergence of these approaches may be within reach. Putting the focus on the contract of sale, which, as the most common type of contract, may fulfill a leading role in the harmonization process, this book provides a model for further convergence of European sales laws, engaging with issues of contract theory and comparative law lying at the heart of the process. Independently from this, the comparison between different systems is used in order to highlight particular problems in the remedial schemes of individual systems and to see whether a better solution may be borrowed from elsewhere. Scaling the interests of sellers and buyers as reflected in national laws as well as in uniform sets of rules such as the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the Principles of European Contract Law a plea is made for a primary position for performance-oriented remedies in the harmonization of European sales law. In this context, special significance is attributed to the possibility of cure by the seller, which has both practical and conceptual links to the buyer's remedies aimed at performance.

In numerous fields of law, ranging from family law to company law, private actors increasingly set their own rules, revert to private enforcement of those rules and choose the applicable law. Within each field this tendency has already been scrutinised. Until now, however, few attempts have been made to look at these phenomena together with a view to arriving at conclusions that go beyond one specific field. This book is a first attempt to fill this gap. It is relevant for scholars and practitioners working in the individual fields of law covered (private international law, company law, family law, consumer law and commercial law) as well as for scholars and policy makers trying to grasp the overall nature of the increasing privatisation of the law.

The relevance of contracting and self-regulation in consumer markets has increased rapidly in recent years, in particular in the platform economy. Online platforms provide opportunities for businesses and consumers to connect with strangers, often across borders, trading products, and services. In this new economy, platform operators create, apply and enforce their own rules in their contractual relationships with users. This book examines the substance of these rules and the space for private governance beyond the reach of state regulation. Vanessa Mak explores recent developments in lawmaking 'beyond the state' with case studies focusing on companies such as Airbnb and Amazon. The book asks how common values and objectives of EU law, such as consumer protection and contractual fairness, can be safeguarded when lawmaking shifts to a space outside the reach of state law.