Common Law, Civil Law, and the Single European Market for Insurances

2006 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 879-910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giesela Rühl

AbstractFifty years after the foundation of the European Communities, the single market for insurances has not yet become a reality. Despite the harmonization of insurance supervision law, insurance companies still essentially refrain from cross-border activity when it comes to small commercial and consumer risks. Since this finding is usually attributed to the lack of common rules on insurance contracts, this article sets out to lay the foundation for the harmonization of the corresponding national laws. By providing a comparative analysis of two of the most pervasive issues in consumer insurance contract law, the article proves that common law and civil law are not as far apart as commonly assumed. It thus refutes the widely held belief that the insurance contract laws of common law and civil law countries are too different to be harmonized.

Legal Studies ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim Dietrich

The common law has solved questions of liability arising in the context of precontractual negotiations by resort to a range of different doctrines and approaches, adopting in effect ‘piecemeal’ solutions to questions of precontractual liability. Consequently, debate has arisen as to how best to classify or categorise claims for precontractual work and as to which doctrines are best suited to solving problems arising from anticipated contracts. The purpose of this article is to consider this question of how best to classify (cases of) precontractual liability. The initial focus will be on the ongoing debate as to whether principles of contract law or principles of unjust enrichment can better solve problems of precontractual liability. I will be suggesting that unjust enrichment theory offers little by way of explanation of cases of precontractual liability and, indeed, draws on principles of contract law in determining questions of liability for precontractual services rendered, though it does so by formulating those principles under different guises. Irrespective, however, of the doctrines utilised by the common law to impose liability, it is possible to identify a number of common elements unifying all cases of precontractual liability. In identifying such common elements of liability, it is necessary to draw on principles of both contract and tort law. How, then, should cases of precontractual liability best be classified? A consideration of the issue of classification of precontractual liability from a perspective of German civil law will demonstrate that a better understanding of cases of precontractual liability will be gained by classifying such cases as lying between the existing categories of contract and tort.


1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 308
Author(s):  
Shaik Mohd Noor Alam S.M. Hussain

Malaysia dan Indonesia memiliki persamaan dan perbedaan dalam sistem hukum. Keduanegara mengenal Hukum Islam dan Hukum Adat. Namun berkenaan dengan hukum Baratmaka Malaysia menganut "Common Law System ", sedangkan Indonesia negeri yangdimasukkan dalam "Civil Law System ". Karangan berikut ini mencoba memperbandingkansahnya suatu perjanjian menurut hukum "Common Law" Malaysia dan "Civil Law" Indonesia. Terlihat adanya perbedaan dalam unsur-unsur yang harus dipenuhi untuk sahnya suatu perjanjian di kedua negara tersebut.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-148
Author(s):  
Mariusz Fras

Abstract In the light of different approaches to the question of regulating economic insurance law in specific legal systems, formulation of a model definition of the insurance contract, although necessary for further investigations, is merely theoretical. Specific lawmakers approach the question of specification of the content of the insurance contract at the statutory level with varying degree of consequence. Insurance relationships are a heterogeneous category, and attempts to develop uniform systematics with the use of comparative legal methods are still hindered by differences between individual legal systems. There is a lack of consistence between the distinctions adopted in private law systems and solutions characteristic of public law, which exert much influence on the market of insurance services as a part of insurance supervision.


Author(s):  
Gary F Bell

Indonesia is one of the most legally diverse and complex countries in the world. It practises legal pluralism with three types of contract law in force: adat (customary) contract laws, Islamic contract laws (mostly concerning banking), and the European civil law of contract, transplanted from the Netherlands in 1847, found mainly in the Civil Code (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Perdata). This chapter focuses on European civil law as it is the law used for the majority of commercial transactions. The civil law of contract is not well developed and there is a paucity of indigenous doctrine and jurisprudence, since most significant commercial disputes are settled by arbitration. The contours of the law are consistent with the French/Dutch legal tradition. In the formation of contracts, the subjective intention of the parties plays a greater role than in the common law. As with most jurisdictions with a Napoleonic tradition, the offer must include all the essential element of the contract, there is no concept of ‘invitations to treat’ or of ‘consideration’, the common law posting rule is rejected, and the contract is formed only when the acceptance is received. There are generally few requirements of form but some contracts must be in writing and some in a notarial deed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 108-116
Author(s):  
K.A. USACHEVA

The extent to which the contract law traditions in the common law systems really differs from those in the civil law ones is discussed in the article. Today, the existence of such differences is difficult to reject, but their modern description looks more like rough cartoon sketches, which do not take into account lots of additional factors. The article proposes considering this matter more carefully.


2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-532
Author(s):  
Malgorzata Karolina Chmielewska

This study compares the methods used both in common law and civil law jurisdictions to deal with the basic problems relating to the documentary letter of credit. A unique commercial device was thus developed in international trade as a means of ensuring safe and swift payment for goods. Even though this distinct mechanism works efficiently in practice, the numerous attempts made to classify it legally have been unsuccessful. A comparative analysis of the legal conceptualizations traditionally used to explain the nature of credit reveals apparent shortcomings in contractual theories. Because the basis of the documentary credit appears to be an abstract promise to pay, this phenomenon seems to break through the conceptual framework of traditional contract law theory. This is due to the fact that the process of forming the credit does not fit into the ordinary offer-acceptance formula. Yet, the easiest solution—the credit as a "mercantile specialty" or a "sui generis contract"—avoids facing the true challenge of our era, which is re-thinking the concept of "contracts" under modern laws. Legal debates should be directed in a more functional direction in order to provide satisfactory theoretical grounds for providing solutions to obvious, but still unanswered questions such as why people ought to keep their promises and why only some of those promises are likely to be legally enforced. It seems that, in this regard, documentary credit would be a convenient "guinea pig" for most contemporary concepts relating to the law of contracts.


2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 80-87
Author(s):  
Éva Török

In this communication, the effects of the economical, moreover the technical growth on the contract law is presented comprehensively. The traditional framework of the civil law contracts has been broken by the development and phenomena of market economy in our country. Furthermore the legal milieu has to go by the changed demands of the economic operators. As results of the business-like management, the large investments as well as the cross-border transactions formed more and more novel, the so-called atypical contracts in the Hungarian law. New contracting methods are linked with the technological evolution. At first, the pre-prepared model contracts came into view by the development of the mass production, additionally the digital environment vivified the possibilities of electronically created contracts. The contract law legislation of the European Union had a significant effect on the discussed field also.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Zdzisław Brodecki ◽  
Katarzyna Malinowska

Tendencies on Internal Insurance Market vis a vis Harmonization of European Insurance Contract LawSummaryIn the paper, the authors describe the main contemporary process which takes place w ithin the insurance contract law in Europe - viz the Euro-merge of private law, as well as the evolution of the insurance contract law during the last decades. The process o f the unification of European private law will also affect the insurance contract law. First of all the impact o f the development o f the ideas shaped in a form of general contract law drafted as the Restatement of the Principles of European Contract Law by the „Lando Group” is undeniable. These rules also applicable to some extent to insurance contracts show that the process of the unification o f insurance contract law cannot be stopped and that it will constantly develop. There can also be observed a process of a specific European com m on law being developed in Europe in different branches, such as product liability, consumer protection, etc. This already influences the harmonization o f the European insurance contract law, and the obstacles to harmonization, existing even ten years ago, have disappeared. The Restatement o f Insurance Contract Law being in preparation by the „Group of Innsbruck” will probably constitute a basis for a future codification o f the insurance contract law.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Dr. Brunela Kullolli

This article analysis relates to the creation of conditions for the conclusion of the contract.This is the moment when the negotiating parties determine whether there will be a contract or not. This is the stage that in the best case is finalized with the contract signing.Known as the pre-contractual stage, it is considered as the foundation of the contractual relationship.Conduct in good faith at the stage of entering into a contract would also avoid causing potential damages and liability".- The first part gives , of Completion of the contract in good faith, is a legal requirement under the Civil Laë tradition, but unlike the requirement for pre-contractual trust, finds place in the Common Law tradition.In this part of the study, the detailed treatment of the manner of performance of the contract will be set aside, focusing mainly on the obligations that dictate its fulfillment in good faith and the liability incurred in the event of its absence . The second part is concentrated, Contract Interpretation. The third part will be treated as a brief and comparative overview of the common law of Civil Law in the interpretation of the contract, taking into account the main interpretative criteria, to underline the main differences between them. Among all the criteria, the focus will be on trust, which is sanctioned as a special criterion of interpretation by the Civil Law countries. The fourth part analysis the validity of the contract.In this last part of the chapter, I will try to clarify the confusion created between the rules of contract validity and the rules of conduct, as well as the role and impact of the breach of the trust principle in the validity of the contract. Conclusions .Regarding the situations that arise for the damage that comes to the parties from non-fulfillment of obligations and breach of the principle of good faith during the contract's formation, it is necessary to clarify how the type of damage that came during the pre-contractual phase and which interest has failed to realize one of the parties. In fact, this is a genuine duty of the court which, as the case may be, must specify exactly: the responsibility of the parties, the interest that has been violated, the type of damage that has been caused.Keywords: contract law ,internal law ,contractual relation,internal contract interpretation, civil law


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