Smits, Jan M. --- "How to predict the differences in uniformity between different areas of a future European private law? An evolutionary approach" [2002] ELECD 9; in Marciano, Alain; Josselin, Jean-Michel (eds), "The Economics of Harmonizing European Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2002)

Book Title: The Economics of Harmonizing European Law

Editor(s): Marciano, Alain; Josselin, Jean-Michel

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781840646085

Section: Chapter 2

Section Title: How to predict the differences in uniformity between different areas of a future European private law? An evolutionary approach

Author(s): Smits, Jan M.

Number of pages: 21

Extract:

2. How to predict the differences in
uniformity between different areas of
a future European private law?
An evolutionary approach
Jan M. Smits

2.1 INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, it is investigated whether it is possible to predict the evolution
of (parts of) national European private law systems toward a uniform private
law. In doing so, insights of evolutionary theory, economic analysis of law and
(socio)biology are taken into account in what is essentially an interdisciplinary
approach toward the evolution of European private law. One of the character-
istics of the now rapidly emerging discipline of European private law is after
all that it is still so much in its infancy that it is very fertile to try to profit from
neighbouring disciplines in establishing the foundations of this discipline.1
Whether it is possible to predict the measure of uniformity in European private
law is, of course, of great scholarly and practical interest. From a scholarly
point of view, it may give us insight into the differences in types of legal rules
and types of private law areas with regard to their resistancy to harmonization.
From a practical viewpoint, insight into the measure of uniformity to be
attained tells us what public policy should be regarding decisions on the intro-
duction of European Directives on specific fields of private law. Drafters of
European `Principles',2 and other projects aiming at being a `soft law' precur-
sor to some European Civil Code,3 may also benefit from these insights.
...