Book Review: The New German Law of Obligations. Historical and Comparative Perspectives
| Author | Peter Rott |
| Published date | 01 March 2007 |
| Date | 01 March 2007 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1023263X0701400106 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book Reviews
14 MJ 1 (2007) 103
person, from community to c ommunity and from cou ntry to country. Overlooking the
discussions and developments in t he various Member States in the last two decades one
may conclude that while signi cant progress in modernizing partnership rights has
been made in more than a few Member States, this is not yet the case in all. To use
the language used by the ECJ in Reed, there still does not appear to be a gener al social
development throughout the Communit y revealing widespread support for extending
residence rights to same-sex spouses or u nmarried par tners. In a Union/Community,
which is, as the Treaty establishing a Constit ution puts it, ‘united in diversit y’, it would
seem reasonable to show some restraint i n proposing a universal solution to an issue
as controversial as the one under consideration. Of c ourse, anyone is free to cal l upon
and pressure the ECJ or other cour ts to take a more assertive stance, but, for as long as
views on the issue of extendi ng partnership rights remain so divergent, judicial c aut ion
would seem to be in order. us, as much as one may support the ca se for mo dernizing
partnership rig hts and share Toner’s disappointment about the very limited progress
that has been in the Eu ropean political arena, this doe s necessarily imply that one joins
the author in hoping for a more ‘progressive’ ruli ng from the ECJ. It is tempting to do
so, but in a Union of 25 (soon to be 27) diverse Member States, it is debatable whether
it is prudent for the ECJ to intervene in a politica lly controversial and sensitive debate
that is stil l very much in process. Fundamental rights cons titute powerful weapons for
proponents of extending and strengt hening partnership rig hts, but to ensure Union-wide
legitimacy it is, for t he time being, perhaps wi ser to advance these in pol itical debates
rather than cour t proceedings. Be t hat as it may, Helen Toner has made a st rong case
for extending migration rights to same-sex spouses a nd unmarried pa rtners of Union
citizens moving f rom one Member State to another and by doing this she has made a
signi c ant contribution to the debates on this topic. Her book is mandatory literat ure for
anyone interested in following or part icipating in this debate.
Anne Peter van der Mei
Lecturer in Eu ropean Law, Maastricht University
Zimmermann, Reinhard, e New Ger man Law of Obligations. Histo rical and
Comparative Perspectives, Oxford University Press 2005, xiv + 24 0 pp., hardback, £40,
ISBN 0-19-929137-3
e massive reform of the Germa n law of obligations, which came i nto e ect on
1 Januar y 2002, has brought about a wealth of literat ure in the German lang uage, ranging
from fundamenta l opposition to strong enthusiasm. However, it has also attracte d the
attention of readers from other countries a nd this is the rst, admitted ly modest, reason
why Reinhard Zimmerma nn’s book is to be welcomed. e book is , of course, not a
textbook on the new Germa n law of obligations. It also refrains from simply compar ing
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