About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

6 ERCL 1 (2010)

handle is hein.journals/ercl6 and id is 1 raw text is: ARTICLES

Le droit europ6en des contrats et ses influences sur le
droit frangais
DENIS MAZEAUD*
Abstract: The article deals with the influences of European Contract Law on French Law,
European Contract Law being understood as the important concepts to be found in the
Member States and in the sets of principles, not EC positive law. Thus the author rather
discusses a whole system and non-mandatory adaptation. For French Law, he discusses the
influences so far, but as well those sensed in the current large scale contract law reform.
Starting from the far spread critique that European Contract Law is too much oriented to
economic efficiency and business, the author first discusses the influences sensed in the past:
In the first main part he sees the core influence in that, indeed, the concept of economic
efficiency has become stronger, namely with the introduction of the possibility that one
party may be authorized to fix the content of the contract unilaterally and with the
introduction of a possibility to rescind the contract without the intervention of a judge. The
author sees as new achievements in French Contract Law as well that contracts can now be
avoided because of the exercise of economic power and that there is now some trace of a
duty of renegotiation. In the second main section, the author first explains convergences
already to be found and discusses on this basis the two core points of resistance to be found
to the current contract law reform: It is seen to leave to little space to party autonomy and it
is seen to destroy the ,,cultural masterpiece of French Civil and Contract Law. It is the
scope of this article to discover how much myth is in all this.
Resume: L'article traite des influences du droit europen des contrats sur le droit frangais, le
droit europeen etant entendu non pas comme le droit positif de l'Union europeenne, mais
comme les concepts et principes fondamentaux des droits des Ltats membres. Ainsi, l'auteur
discute le systsme dans son entier, ainsi que son adaptation de fait (en dehors pour l'instant
d'une demarche imposee). Pour le droit frangais, il discute les influences actuelles, qu'il
resitue dans le cadre general des projets de reformes actuellement envisages. Partant de la
critique largement repandue selon laquelle le droit europeen des contrats est trop oriente
vers l'efficience economique et les affaires, l'auteur discute d'abord les influences passees :
dans la premiere partie il examine l'influence principale par laquelle le concept d'efficacite
economique a pris une place plus importante, en particulier avec l'introduction de la
possibilite pour l'une des parties de fixer de fagon unilaterale le contenu du contrat, et aussi
de la possibilite de resilier le contrat sans l'intervention d'un juge. L'auteur voit comme une
nouveaute en droit frangais des contrats le fait de pouvoir annuler des contrats au motif de
l'abus de position economique de la part de l'une des parties, ainsi que les traces a present
perceptibles d'un devoir de renegociation du contrat. Dans la seconde partie, l'auteur
explique les convergences deij a l'ceuvre et discute sur cette base les deux points cruciaux de
resistance que l'on apergoit dans le projet actuel de reforme du droit des contrats : celui-ci
laisse bien pen de place a l'autonomie des parties, et il semble detruire le chef l'zeuvre 

* Professeur a I'Universit6 Panth6on-Assas (Paris II)

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most