"A More Coherent European Contract Law" - Main contents

official title

 

Legal instrument	Council resolution
Original proposal	COM(2003)68
CELEX number i	32003G1014(01)

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Council Resolution On "A More Coherent European Contract Law"

Official Journal C 246 , 14/10/2003 P. 0001 - 0002

Council Resolution On "A More Coherent European Contract Law"

(2003/C 246/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

• I. 

  RECALLING THAT:

• 1. 

  As a follow-up to its Communication of July 2001 on European Contract law(1), the Commission adopted a Communication entitled: "A more coherent European Contract Law - An Action Plan"(2).

• 2. 

  The European Parliament adopted a resolution on this Communication on 2 September 2003.

• 3. 

  Taking into account the contributions received after July 2001, this Action Plan, on which views from all interested parties are being sought, suggests a long-term strategy based on a mix of non-regulatory and regulatory proposals.

• 4. 

  In addition to appropriate sector-specific interventions, the Action Plan includes proposals aimed at increasing the coherence of the Community acquis in the area of contract law, at promoting the elaboration of general contract terms intended to be applied throughout the European Union and at further examining whether the diversity of contract law in the European Union may also require non-sector-specific solutions.

II. CONSIDERING THAT:

• 1. 

  Community law rules, in particular in the area of contract law, should be consistent and ensure proper transposition into national law. In this context, the Common Frame of Reference suggested by the Commission could contribute to improving the quality and consistency of both existing and future Community legislation in this area. This Common Frame of Reference would not be a legally binding instrument.

• 2. 

  It is essential to ensure a smooth and efficient functioning of cross-border transactions in the internal market. In this context, it would be useful to take appropriate and proportionate measures to facilitate the conclusion of cross-border contracts, to decrease transaction costs, and to allow all economic operators and consumers to make full use of the advantages offered by the internal market. Any measure, including the Common Frame of Reference, should correspond to the realities of the internal market and, therefore, to the practical needs of economic operators and consumers. Member States should be actively involved in their preparation and elaboration.

• 3. 

  The coherence between the follow-up to the Action Plan and to the Green Paper on the conversion of the Rome Convention of 1980 on the law applicable to contractual obligations into a Community instrument and its modernisation should be guaranteed. The need for coherence with existing relevant international conventions aiming at the harmonisation of private law, in particular the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods of 11 April 1980, should also be taken into account.

III. WELCOMES:

• 1. 

  The Commission Action Plan on "A more coherent European contract law".

• 2. 

  The Commission's intention to elaborate a Common Frame of Reference, prepared on the basis of a research project under the Sixth Framework Programme for research and technological development(3), taking due account of all the different legal traditions of Member States.

The Commission's intention to inscribe the proposals included in the Action Plan inter alia within the objective of developing an area of freedom, security and justice and to ensure that they are complementary with the follow-up to the Green Paper on the conversion of the Rome Convention of 1980(4) on the law applicable to contractual obligations into a Community instrument and its modernisation(5).

IV. UNDERLINES THAT:

• 1. 

  In order to achieve greater transparency, coherence and simplification of contract law, it also appears particularly useful to further improve, consolidate and codify, the...

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