UCL Centre for Law & Economics

Comparative Institutions and Harmonisation - Florian Wagner-von Papp, Director

Objectives:
This part of the Centre focuses on comparative law & economics, and on the economics of legal harmonisation.

Legal harmonisation on the European and the international level is a reality in many areas of law already, and the momentum for extending the scope is increasing. Economics can inform the discussion on various levels. The economic analysis of federalism may help to decide whether it is wise to harmonise a specific area at all, and if so, at what level. Public choice will be relevant for the question whether harmonisation is feasible given the political incentives for those involved in the decision-making process. Insights from comparative law & economics may help to shape the content of the harmonised law.

Among the areas of particular interest are:

• International Sales Law, where the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG, Vienna Convention) is one of the prime examples for international harmonisation, supplemented by initiatives on transnational law, such as the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts 2004;
• Contract Law, where efforts on the European level are ongoing, with the Consumer Acquis, the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) and the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) as provisional results, and where the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) has already achieved harmonisation to a large extent in the U.S.;
• Tort Law, where the Principles of European Tort Law (PETL) have made a start;
• Competition/Antitrust Law, where there is far-reaching harmonisation on the European level, but next to no harmonisation on the international level.