Workshop: 'Reforming the Law of Obligations in European Jurisdictions'

Location: Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London

The University of Cambridge and the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London and the British Association of Comparative Law, warmly invite you to attend (in person) a one-day workshop on Reforming the Law of Obligations in European Jurisdictions on 27 June, 9am-4pm at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London.

In 2016, the contract law section in the French Civil code was comprehensively revised and modernised, with over 150 new articles enacted. French reformers then continued to overhaul the law of obligations in France, including civil liability as well as the law on specific categories of contract (droit des contrats spéciaux), such as sales and agency. Since then, comparative lawyers in neighbouring European jurisdictions have drawn upon the developments in France to reflect on whether their own laws of obligations are also in need of modernisation. This workshop aims to explore the theme of reforming the laws of obligations from a comparative perspective, with a focus on contract law.

The workshop is organised by Dr Colm McGrath (KCL), Professor Solène Rowan (KCL) and Dr Sophie Turenne (University of Cambridge).

Speakers

• Professor Birke Häcker (University of Bonn), ‘Looking Back at the 2002 Reform of the German Law of Obligations: Reflections in the Light of the French Experience’
• Professor Catharine MacMillan (KCL), ‘A restatement of misstatements – should the English law of contractual misrepresentation be reformed?’
• Professor Elena Bargelli (University of Pisa), ‘The “cause” of the contract’
• Professor Francisco de Elizalde (IE University), ‘The silent reform of Spanish contract law’
• Dr Maxime Cormier (University of Paris II), ‘Reforming the law of special contracts today: reflections from the potential reform of French law’
• Professor Laura Macgregor (University of Edinburgh), 'Retention of performance – a suitable candidate for law reform in Scotland?'
• Professor Pascal Pichonnaz (University of Fribourg), ‘The non-reform of the Swiss Code of obligations (CO 2020) and its aftermath’
• Professor Rafaël Jafferali (ULB), ‘Reforming Interpretation in Belgian Contract Law’
• Professor Solène Rowan (KCL), ‘The 2016 Reform of French Contract Law: Some Recent developments’

Sessions will be chaired by Professor John Bell (Cambridge University), Professor Paula Giliker (Bristol University) and Professor Catherine Valcke (Toronto University).

Registration for this event is now closed.