Twigg-Flesner, Christian --- "The Acquis Principles: An Insider’s Critical Reflections on the Drafting Process" [2012] ELECD 368; in Andenas, Mads; Andersen, Baasch Camilla (eds), "Theory and Practice of Harmonisation" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Theory and Practice of Harmonisation

Editor(s): Andenas, Mads; Andersen, Baasch Camilla

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849800013

Section: Chapter 24

Section Title: The Acquis Principles: An Insider’s Critical Reflections on the Drafting Process

Author(s): Twigg-Flesner, Christian

Number of pages: 22

Extract:

24. The acquis principles: an insider's
critical reflections on the drafting
process*
Christian Twigg-Flesner1

INTRODUCTION
The theme of this book is the theory and practice of harmonisation, with this
contribution focusing primarily on the latter. Its purpose is to consider the work
of the Acquis Group and its output, the Principles of Existing EC Contract Law,
better known as the Acquis Principles (abbreviated to ACQP).2 The ACQP have a
dual purpose: on the one hand, they are intended to survey and re-state the body
of contract law rules which have already been adopted through EU legislation; on
the other, they are supplying provisions for the Draft Common Frame of Reference
(DCFR), which, in turn, could be used to consolidate and make more coherent
EU legislation in this field. This contribution is intended to be a critical reflection
on the process of drafting the ACQP, from the perspective of one member of the
Acquis Group involved in both the drafting of particular provisions, as well as the
compilation of individual provisions to form the ACQP. It will begin by setting
the overall context within which the ACQP have been drafted, followed by a more
detailed examination of the drafting process itself. There will be a discussion of
the challenges associated with the insertion of the ACQP into the DCFR. It will
be argued that the conflation of two separate projects has resulted in methodologi-
cal shortcomings which, with the benefit of more time, could have been avoided.



* ...