Principles, Definitions and Model Rules of European Private Law Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) Interim Outline Edition Prepared by the Study Group on a European Civil Code and the Research Group on EC Private Law (Acquis Group) Based in part on a revised version of the Principles of European Contract Law edited by Christian von Bar, Eric Clive and Hans Schulte-Nölke and Hugh Beale, Johnny Herre, Jérôme Huet, Peter Schlechtriem†, Matthias Storme, Stephen Swann, Paul Varul, Anna Veneziano and Fryderyk Zoll This work can be ordered as a book for J 9,90 at www.sellier.de (ISBN 978-3-86653-059-1). More texts by the Study Group and the Acquis Group are available at www.law-net.eu. www.law-net.eu www.sellier.de Table of contents Introduction 1 Academic contributors and funders 41 Table of Destinations 51 Table of Derivations 59 Model Rules 71 Book I General provisions 101 Book II Contracts and other juridical acts 105 Book III Obligations and corresponding rights 149 Book IV Specific contracts and the rights and obligations arising from them 191 Book V Benevolent intervention in another’s Affairs 299 Book VI Non-Contractual liability arising out of damage caused to another 303 Book VII Unjustified enrichment Annex 1 Definitions 321 Annex 2 Computation of time Index 331 www.law-net.eu www.sellier.de Introduction General ....................................................................... 3 1. DCFR and CFR distinguished ........................................... 3 2. An interim outline edition of the DCFR ............................... 4 3. The timing and nature of this edition .................................. 4 4. An academic, not a politically authorised text ........................ 5 5. About this introduction ................................................. 5 The purposes of the DCFR .................................................. 6 6. A possible model for a political CFR ................................... 6 7. Legal science, research and education .................................. 6 8. A possible source of inspiration ........................................ 7 Contents of the DCFR ....................................................... 8 9. Principles, definitions and model rules ................................. 8 10. Meaning of ‘principles’ .................................................. 8 11. Underlying principles ................................................... 9 12. Definitions ............................................................... 9 13. Model rules .............................................................. 10 14. Comments and notes .................................................... 10 Aims and underlying values................................................. 10 15. Ongoing discussion on ‘fundamental principles’ ....................... 10 16. A matter of political standpoint ........................................ 11 17. Request for comments .................................................. 11 18. Function and purpose of ‘fundamental principles’ ..................... 11 19. ‘Fundamental principles’ expressed as aims ............................ 12 20. Model of society and economic system ................................. 12 21. Community law and Member States laws as the measure ............. 12 22. Core aims of European private law ..................................... 13 23. Balancing conflicting aims and values ................................. 13 24. Justice .................................................................... 14 25. Freedom, in particular freedom of contract ............................ 14 1 www.law-net.eu Introduction 26. Restrictions on freedom to contract .................................... 14 27. Restrictions on freedom to determine contents of contract ........... 15 28. Minimum intervention .................................................. 15 29. Economic welfare ........................................................ 16 30. Interventions to promote efficiency .................................... 16 31. Protection of human rights ............................................. 17 32. Solidarity and social responsibility ..................................... 17 33. Good faith ............................................................... 17 34. Contracts harmful to third persons and society in general. ............ 17 35. EU-specific aims ......................................................... 18 36. Rationality, legal certainty, predictability, efficiency .................. 18 The coverage of the DCFR .................................................. 18 37. Wider coverage than PECL ............................................. 18 38. Non-contractual obligations ............................................ 19 39. Matters of movable property law ....................................... 19 40. Matters excluded ........................................................ 19 41. Reasons for the approach adopted ...................................... 19 42. Contract law as part of private law ..................................... 20 Structure and language of the DCFR model rules.......................... 20 43. Structure of the model rules ............................................ 20 44. Mode of numbering of the model rules ................................. 21 45. Ten books ................................................................ 21 46. Books II and III .......................................................... 22 47. Juridical acts and obligations ........................................... 22 48. Contractual and non-contractual obligations .......................... 23 49. Language ................................................................. 23 How the DCFR relates to PECL, the SGECC PEL series, the Acquis and the Insurance Contract Group series ..................... 24 50. Based in part on the PECL .............................................. 24 51. Deviations from PECL ................................................... 24 52. Examples ................................................................. 24 53. Input from stakeholders ................................................. 25 54. Developments since the publication of the PECL ...................... 25 55. The PEL series ........................................................... 26 56. Deviations from the PEL series ......................................... 27 2 www.sellier.de General Intr. 1 57. Improvements ........................................................... 27 58. The Acquis Principles (ACQP). ........................................ 28 59. Principles of European Insurance Contract Law ....................... 28 How the DCFR may be used as preparatory work for the CFR .......... 29 60. Announcements by the Commission ................................... 29 61. Purposes of the CFR ..................................................... 30 62. Green Paper on the Review of the Consumer Acquis ................. 30 63. Improving the existing and future acquis: model rules ................ 30 64. Improving the acquis: developing a coherent terminology ............ 31 65. No functional terminology list without rules .......................... 32 66. Improving the acquis: principles ........................................ 32 67. Coverage of the CFR .................................................... 33 68. Consumer law ........................................................... 33 69. Revision of the acquis and further harmonisation measures .......... 33 70. Terms and concepts referred to in Directives .......................... 34 71. When in doubt, topics should be included ............................. 34 72. Essential background information ...................................... 35 73. Good faith as an example ............................................... 35 74. Presupposed rules of national law ...................................... 36 75. DCFR not structured on an ‘everything or nothing’ basis ............. 36 76. The CFR as the basis for an optional instrument ...................... 37 Next steps .................................................................... 37 77. Review of the DCFR .................................................... 37 78. Outstanding matters. .................................................... 38 79. Square brackets. ......................................................... 38 80. Full and final DCFR ..................................................... 38 81. CFR ...................................................................... 39 General 1. DCFR and CFR distinguished. In this volume the Study Group on a European Civil Code and the European Research Group on Exist- ing EC Private Law (the ‘Acquis Group’) present the first academic Draft of a Common Frame of Reference (DCFR). It contains Prin- ciples, Definitions and Model Rules of European Private Law in an 3 www.law-net.eu Intr. 2 Introduction interim outline edition. Among other goals its completion fulfils an obligation to the European Commission undertaken in 2005. The Commission’s Research Directorate-General funded part of the work. One purpose of the text is to serve as a draft for drawing up a ‘political’ Common Frame of Reference (CFR) which was called for by the European Commission’s ‘Action Plan on A More Coherent European Contract Law’ of January 2003.1 As is explained more precisely below, the DCFR and the CFR must be clearly distin- guished. The DCFR serves several other important purposes. 2. An interim outline edition of the DCFR. The DCFR is being pub- lished