Abgeschlossene Projekte

Gemeineuropäisches Privatrecht der natürlichen Person

Gegenstand des Gemeineuropäischen Privatrechts der natürlichen Person sind die Rechtssätze, die das Privatrecht der europäischen Staaten in der Person des Menschen bündelt. Modernes Personenrecht ist grundrechtsgeleitetes Privatrecht. Es sichert die Unverfügbarkeit von Körper und Würde. Es garantiert, dass ein Mensch nicht zu einer bloßen Sache herabgestuft wird. Es gewährleistet seinen Zugang zur Privatrechtsordnung. Es begrenzt Fremdbestimmung auf ein unverzichtbares Mindestmaß. Es fasst Geschlecht als ein rechtliches Konzept. Und es gibt Menschen neue Freiheiten in der Wahl ihres Namens. Personenrecht geht jedermann an. Es steht deshalb in ganz Europa im Mittelpunkt vieler rechtspolitischer Debatten und neuer Entwicklungen.

Forschungsprojekt von Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Christian von Bar im Rahmen des Ständigen Seminars zum Gemeineuropäischen Privatrecht der natürlichen Person mit einem internationalen Forschungsteam.
Das Buch ist im Verlag C.H.Beck in der Reihe Jus Commune Europaeum erschienen.

 

Gemeineuropäisches Sachenrecht

Das Gemeineuropäische Sachenrecht entfaltet Sachenrecht erstmalig als eine Teildisziplin des Europäischen Privatrechts. Der erste Band handelt von den Grundlagen, von den Gegenständen sachenrechtlichen Rechtsschutzes und von den in der Europäischen Union anzutreffenden subjektiven Sachenrechten. Das Buch kann auch als Nachschlagewerk zu den Sachenrechten der Mitgliedstaaten genutzt werden. Das eigentliche Augenmerk liegt jedoch darauf, die nationalen Wissens- und Erfahrungsschätze ohne die Monotonie von Länderberichten in einer widerspruchs- und wiederholungsfreien Gesamtdarstellung einzufangen. Der zweite Band analysiert das Recht des Besitzes, die rechtsgeschäftliche Übertragung von Sachenrechten und die zu ihrem Schutz zur Verfügung stehenden Rechtsbehelfe.

Forschungsprojekt von Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Christian von Bar im Rahmen des Ständigen Seminars zum Gemeineuropäischen Sachenrecht mit einem internationalen Forschungsteam.
Beide Bände sind im Verlag C.H.Beck in der Reihe Jus Commune Europaeum erschienen.

 

Model Rules on Online Platforms

About the project

Background information

The digital economy is increasingly shaped by online platforms serving as marketplaces where customers can buy goods or arrange services (e.g. Airbnb, Uber, Amazon). Their dynamics can be difficult to reconcile with the currently existing regulatory framework at EU level. The applicable law only regulates bilateral consumer-supplier relations. Platforms, on the other hand, are often triangular-based business models that require the customer and supplier not only to make an agreement between each other, but also that they each conclude an agreement with the relevant platform operator. The result is that in many situations consumers that conclude contracts through online platforms are left without effective consumer protection. These platforms vary widely, and any regulation will have to provide for a range of measures depending on whether the platform is merely a ´facilitator´, is actually the supplier, or just presents itself as such.

Objectives of the project

The aim of the project is to develop model rules on online intermediary platforms that set out a balance between conflicting policy options, and demonstrate what potential regulation at EU or national level could look like. They could define the criteria for distinguishing whether a platform operator is only a ‘facilitator’ or is the actual supplier. In addition, they could specify the duties and obligations of the platform operator, making it clear under which conditions the operator may be liable for a non-performance by the supplier. Specific regard is given to the question of what are the basic requirements for the transparency and fairness of online reputation systems (e.g. ratings and reviews), which are a key feature of many online platforms. The ELI Instrument on online intermediary platforms could become a European frame of reference for the law of internet platforms, and thereby contribute to the formulation of a value-based European approach to platforms.

Work

The work on online intermediary platforms was initiated in November 2015, when a conference ‘Platform Services in the Digital Single Market’ was held in the European Legal studies Institute. Later, a Research Group on the Law of Digital Services was established, and prepared and published a discussion draft of a directive on online intermediary platforms. The draft was received with broad interest, also from the ELI general assembly, where, in September 2016, several members of the research group proposed launching an ELI project on the subject. On 7 September 2016, the ELI Council identified the proposal for a project on “Draft Model Rules on Contractual Aspects of Online Intermediary Platforms” as a project that originated outside of the ELI and should be adopted under Section 8 of the ELI Project Guidelines. It was developed by Christoph Busch (Osnabrück), Gerhard Dannemann (Berlin), Hans Schulte-Nölke (Osnabrück/Nijmegen), Aneta Wiewiorowska-Domagalska (Osnabrück) and Fryderyk Zoll (Krakow/Osnabrück), who will also act as Reporters. Initial findings, including a draft legislative proposal, were presented at the 2016 Annual Conference.

 

The crisis of the Rule of Law Conference

About the project

The rule of law is not only a universal legal category, but also a political, sociological and philosophical concept. The political developments that have recently taken place in several Member States of the EU have brought the rule of law under the European spotlight. This conference will therefore focus on discussing the foundations of the rule of law, i.e. the functioning and the dilemmas of the judiciary (constitutional as well as ordinary courts), as well as the impact that the political changes have on the state’s legitimacy. When is legitimacy based on a constitution exhausted, and does a “revolutionary” legitimacy then take over? What, in this case, should be the reaction of the EU? The future of the EU and its members will also be debated, considering the impact that the crisis of the rule of law has on their functioning, and the changes that are taking place in the democratic settings of EU Member States.

Time and place

The conference took place at European Legal Studies Institute, Süsterstraße 28, 49074 Osnabrück, on 5 and 6 February 2018.

 

Study Group on a European Civil Code

The Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) contains the results of the work of the Study Group on a European Civil Code (the “Study Group”) and the Research Group on Existing EC Private Law (the “Aquis Group”). The former Commission on European Contract Law (the “Lando Commission”) provided the basis for much of Books II and III; it was on their Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) that the Study Group and the Acquis Group built. The Acquis Group concentrated on existing Community Law in the area of general contract law. The Study Group’s main focus was on the remaining material. Nearly two hundred and fifty people of different generations collaborated in the research groups over a period of more than twenty-five years. They have reflected important areas of private law in principles, definitions and model rules. The perspective is thoroughly European and the fundamental basis of the work has been scholarly research and impartial thought and argument on the basis of that research. Model rules, with comments and notes, bring together rules derived largely from the legal systems of the Member States and the over-arching Community law. Principles explain the main underlying value judgements. Definitions bring to the defined terms and concepts the shared experience and ideas of jurists from thirty jurisdictions.