Book Review: The Enforceability of Promises in European Contract Law

Published date01 September 2003
DOI10.1177/1023263X0301000308
Date01 September 2003
AuthorGerhard Lubbe
Subject MatterBook Review
Book Reviews
10 MJ 3 (2003) 327
James Gordley (ed.), The Enforceability of Promises in European
Contract Law, Cambridge University Press, 2001, xxxiii + 478 pages,
hardback, £ 60.00
To an observer from a distance the movement towards the unification of Private Law in
Europe, especially in the area of the law of contract, is an endeavour of massive scale
and far-reaching implications, consisting of a multitude of initiatives moving at many
levels along diverse approaches and methodologies.1 Among the various projects The
Common Core of European Private Law Project launched in 1993 at the University of
Trento under the auspices of the late Professor R.B. Schlesinger, represents a novel
approach. Endeavouring to go beyond the mere description of what is to be found in the
formal sources of the Member States of the European Union, the focus of a series of
projected publications is on selected substantive themes which cut across formal
dogmatic categories. The angle of attack reflects the approach developed by Schlesinger
in his classic study on the formation of contract.2 Experts from Member States of
European Union are confronted with a range of concrete casus positiones which explore
the parameters of the chosen theme, with the mandate to respond to them from the
vantage point of their respective national systems.
Volume II of the series, entitled The Enforceability of Promises in European Contract
law and published under the guidance of Professor James Gordley, has as its principal
concern the supposed basic point of distinction between the modern Civil and Common
law that, whereas according to the former a contract is constituted by the agreement of
the parties, the latter postulates the additional requirement of consideration. The study is
undertaken with a view to establishing whether this characterization still holds water,
and what other differences exist regarding the enforceability of promises.3
To these ends, fifteen cases, subdivided into three categories, are dealt with in the
second section of the first Part of the book.4 The first cluster of problems, under the
theme of ‘gifts and favours’, deals with the principal instances of gratuitous
transactions, with a sub-division being drawn between transactions entailing expense to
the promisor, and those that do not. The second area of enquiry, that of ‘promises to pay
for benefits received or owed’, covers undertakings which modify a contract in favour
of the promisee, e.g. by agreeing to pay more than the agreed contract price, as well as
undertakings which pay for benefits conferred pursuant to an unenforceable contract or
in the absence of a contract, which pay an additional amount for benefits that have
1. J. Smits, The Making of European Private Law, (Intersentia, 2002), Chapters 1 and 2.
2. Rudolph B. Schlesinger (ed.), Formation of Contracts: a Study of the Common Core of Legal Systems,
(Oceana, 1968).
3. J. Gordley (ed.), The Enforceability of Promises in European Contract law, (Cambridge University
Press, 2001), 1.
4. Ibid., 16-21.

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT