The Code Napoléon Rewritten

French Contract Law after the 2016 Reforms
Erscheinungsjahr 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5099-3655-7
Verlag: Hart Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 536 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 232 mm, Gewicht: 800 g

The provisions of the French Civil Code governing the law of obligations have remained largely unchanged since 1804 and have served as the model for civil codes across the world. In 2016, the French Government effected major reforms of the provisions on the law of contract, the general regime of obligations and proof of obligations. This work explores in detail the most interesting new provisions on French contract law in a series of essays by French lawyers and comparative lawyers working on French law and other civil law systems. It will make these fundamental reforms accessible to an English-speaking audience.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cartwright, John

Whittaker, Simon

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Internationales Recht und Europarecht Internationales Recht

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction

SIMON WHITTAKER AND JOHN CARTWRIGHT

Part I: The Background to the Reforms
2. The Process of Elaboration of the Reform of the Law of Contract

BÉNÉDICTE FAUVARQUE-COSSON, JULIETTE GEST AND FRANÇOIS ANCEL
I. Introduction

II. The Context of the Reform

III. The Three Periods of the Process of Reform

Part II: The New Provisions Critically Examined
3. Contracts, Contract Law and Contractual Principle

SIMON WHITTAKER
I. Introduction

II. Identifying 'Contract Law'

III. The Portrait of French Contract Law in the Reformed Code Civil

IV. Conclusion

A: The Creation of a Valid Contract
4. Formation of Contract: Negotiation and the Process of Agreement

RUTH SEFTON-GREEN
I. Precontractual Negotiations: Freedom and Good Faith

II. Offer and Acceptance

III. Pre-contracts
IV. Conclusion

5. Validity of Contract: Dol, Erreur and Obligation d'Information

CAROLE AUBERT DE VINCELLES
I. Precontractual Information Obligations

II. The Defects in Consent

6. Violence in the Reformed Napoleonic Code: the Surprising Survival of Third Parties

CIARA KENNEFICK
I. Introduction

II. Duress by Third Parties

III. Duress on Third Parties

IV. Conclusion

B: The Content and Effects of Contracts
7. The Content of Contracts: Prestation, Objet, but No Longer la Cause?

LAURENT AYNÈS
I. Introduction

II. From Objet to the Content of the Contract

III. From la Cause to Something in Return (la Contrepartie)

8. The Revolution in Unfair Terms

PHILIPPE STOFFEL-MUNCK
I. Introduction

II. Article 1170: the General Provision

III. Article 1171: the Special Provision

9. Mandatory and Non-mandatory Rules in the New Law of Contract

CÉCILE PÉRÈS
I. Formal Recognition

II. Qualifications on the General Non-mandatory Character of the Provisions

III. The Retreat of Freedom of Contract

10. Does Review on the Ground of Imprévision Breach the Principle of the Binding Force of Contracts?

BÉNÉDICTE FAUVARQUE-COSSON
I. Introduction

II. From Contractual Stability to Greater Flexibility: How New Article 1195 Finally Reached a Good Balance

III. Imprévision in the Reform of Contract Law: Related Issues

IV. Conclusion

11. The Proprietary Effects of Contracts

GENEVIÈVE HELLERINGER
I. Introduction

II. The New Provisions of the Code Civil
III. Critical Appraisal

12. The Effects of Contracts and Third Parties

JEAN-SÉBASTIEN BORGHETTI
I. Introduction

II. The Relative Effect of the Contract

III. The 'Opposability' of Contracts

IV. Conclusion

C: Contractual Non-performance and its Remedies
13. Exécution Forcée en Nature

YVES-MARIE LAITHIER
I. Introduction

II. The New Provisions of the Code Civil Relating to the Performance in Kind of Contractual Obligations

III. The State of the Law as it Stood Before the Reform of 10 February 2016

IV. Comparative Perspectives on the New Provisions

V. Critical Observations

14. The Exception d'Inexécution

THOMAS GENICON
I. Introduction

II. Considerations Common to Articles 1219 and 1220

III. Article 1219: The Defence of Proven Non-performance

IV. Article 1220: The Defence of Anticipated Non-performance

15. Termination for Contractual Non-performance
SOLÈNE ROWAN
I. Introduction

II. The New Provisions on Termination: Description and Comparison with the 1804 Code

III. Comparative Observations on the New Provisions of the Code Civil

IV. An Assessment of the New Provisions on Termination

V. Conclusion

Part III: Refl ections from Other Civil Laws
16. The New Design of the French Law of Contract and Obligations: An Italian View

PIETRO SIRENA
I. The French Reform in the Eyes of Italian Scholarship

II. The Rise of a French Law of Obligations within Book III of the Code Napoléon

III. The New Article 1100 Code Napoléon and the Rest of its New Title III on the Sources of Obligations

IV. The New Article 1101 Code Napoléon and the Definition of Contract

V. The New Article 1105 Code Napoléon and the Division between the General Part and the Special Part of Contract Law

VI. The New Article 1128 Code Napoléon and the Requirements for the Validity of Contract

VII. The New Chapter of the Code Napoléon on Formation of Contract and the Duty to Disclose During Precontractual Negotiations

VIII. The Degree of Innovation Afforded by the French Reform and the Meaning of a Contemporary Civil (Re-)Codification

17. A Spanish Perspective on the General Theory of Contract

ESTHER ARROYO AMAYUELAS
I. Introduction

II. General Overview of the Reform (Title III)

III. Some Issues of Interest

IV. Final Reflections
18. La Troisième Jeunesse du Code Civil: A German Lawyer Looks at the Reform of French Contract Law

BIRKE HÄCKER
I. Background

II. General Remarks

III. Specific Comments

IV. Conclusion

Über Autor(innen)

Cartwright, John
John Cartwright is Emeritus Professor of the Law of Contract at the University of Oxford, UK.

Whittaker, Simon
Simon Whittaker is Professor of European Comparative Law and a Fellow of St John's College, Oxford.

John Cartwright is Professor of the Law of Contract at the University of Oxford and Director of the Oxford Law Faculty's Institute of European and Comparative Law.

Simon Whittaker is Professor of European Comparative Law at the University of Oxford.