Individualism, Cooperativism and an Ethic for European Contract Law

AuthorRoger Brownsword
Published date01 July 2001
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.00343
Date01 July 2001
REVIEW ARTICLE
Individualism, Cooperativism and an Ethic for
European Contract Law
Roger Brownsword*
Reinhard Zimmermann and Simon Whittaker (eds),Good Faith in European
Contract Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, xxxiii + 720 pp, hb
£75.00.
Introduction
It was at a meeting held at the University of Trento in June 1994 that Reinhard
Zimmermann suggested that good faith in contracts might make an interesting and
fruitful topic for the so-called ‘Common Core of European Private Law’ project.1
Six years later, with the publication of Good Faith in European Contract Law,2
Zimmermann’s suggestion has been brought through to a successful completion.
Whether one’s interest is in comparative law or its methodology, the harmonisation
of European private law, or good faith in contracts, the publication of this book is a
major event and, whatever one makes of the product of this study, there is no
question that Zimmermann, his co-editor Simon Whittaker, and the team of
contributors are to be congratulated for conceiving of such a book and then
delivering it so impressively.
The book is a mine of informed analysis. Readers who want an introduction to
good faith doctrines in German, French and (in its limited way) English contract
law, will be considerably assisted by the co-editors’ own opening contribution to
the book. Similarly, if one’s interest in good faith relates to its place in Roman law,
or in contract law in the medieval ius commune, or in US contract law, then the
contributions by, respectively, Martin Josef Schermaier, James Gordley, and
Robert Summers will be required reading. However, the centrepiece of this book –
its distinctive contribution to comparative private law scholarship in general and to
an understanding of good faith doctrines (or their cognates) in particular – is the set
of 30 case studies, discussion of which takes up the greater part of this volume. The
purpose of the study, focused on the 30 hypothetical cases, is not so much to
compare doctrinal technique and resource in contract law regimes across Europe;
rather, the project is designed to reach beyond surface doctrinal difference to see
how far there is a core of agreement as to good faith outcomes in Europe.
ßThe Modern Law Review Limited 2001 (MLR 64:4, July). Published by Blackwell Publishers,
108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.628
* Professor of Law, University of Sheffield. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to try out some
of the ideas in this paper at a seminar at the University of Cape Town in October 2000. I am grateful to
everyone who participated.
1 The project was launched at the University of Trento in 1993, under the auspices of the late Professor
Rudolf B. Schlesinger. See further the project’s home page at .
2 All page references in the text are to this book.

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