Paper on EUROPEAN COMMON SALES LAW by Paul Abbiati October 2011 Summary of Paper:

Paper on European Common Sales Law: Summary: Introduction The European Commission is proposing an optional Common European Sales Law which they say amongst other things will facilitate trade by offering a single set of rules for cross-border contracts in all 27 EU countries. They state that if traders offer their products on the basis of the Common European Sales law, consumers would have the option of choosing a user-friendly European contract with a high level of protection with just one click of a mouse. The Commission's proposal now needs approval from EU Member States and the European Parliament, which already signalled support in a vote earlier this year. But, consultation responses to European Ministries of Justice have raised concerns about the use of such a law.

Paper on European Common Sales Law: Summary: Concerns Concerns about the use of such a law include: that if both consumers and businesses agree on using the Common European Sales Law that the level of consumer protection provided could be lower than that under national consumer protection laws. For example, in the UK protection is given for credit card holders under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Also, the use of the proposed law by both consumers and businesses will result in confusion and reduce understanding of both national consumer protection laws and business laws.

Paper on European Common Sales Law: Summary: Impact of Common Sales Law on current commercial position of English lawl Currently, parties to a contract have party autonomy and this freedom of contract is an important principle. Most businesses will currently select their own law or English law which is commonly preferred. That means that if any new optional law was successful it would have some impact on the current commercial position of English law. That may have an impact on existing legal practice and dispute resolution mechanisms in the UK all of which would need to be assessed before any decisions are taken.

Paper on European Common Sales Law: Summary: if EU legislation unsettles current commercial position of English common law business the UK lost would most likely not be displaced elsewhere in the European Union but, rather would be more likely go to non-EU common law jurisdictions English common law is the favoured choice of global (and inter-EU) commercial contract law. It should be borne in mind that if EU legislation unsettled the current commercial position of the English common law to a significant extent then any business the UK lost would most likely not be displaced elsewhere in the European Union but rather would be more likely go to a non-EU common law jurisdictions such as New York, Switzerland and Singapore.

Paper on European Common Sales Law: Summary: reality needs to be reflected in an Impact Assessment This reality needs to be reflected in an Impact Assessment as impacts may not be equal throughout the Community

Paper on European Common Sales Law: Summary: the Paper’s author: Paul Abbiati is an -EU Commission CFR-net expert member -Spoke at the Swedish EU Presidency Conference on EU Contract Law on behalf of business, October 2009 -Co-Chair of the ICC Task Force on EU Contract Law 2006-2010 e-mail: law@abbiati.co.uk

Paper on European Common Sales Law: Summary: the Paper’s author: Paul Abbiati spoke at The Swedish EU Presidency Conference on EU Contract Law on behalf of business, October 2009 -EU Commission CFR-net expert member -Speaker at the Swedish EU Presidency Conference on EU Contract Law on behalf of business, October 2009 -Co-Chair of the ICC Task Force on e-mail:law@abbiati.co.uk

Paper on European Common Sales Law: Summary: The European Law Institute Paul Abbiati is a Fellow of The European Law Institute -EU Commission CFR-net expert member -Speaker at the Swedish EU Presidency Conference on EU Contract Law The European Law Institute (ELI) is an independent non-profit organisation established to initiate, conduct and facilitate research, make recommendations and provide practical guidance in the field of European legal development behalf of business, October 2009 -