The internal vs. the external dimension of European private law – a conceptual design and a research agenda

Abstract

Research on the external dimension of European Private Law is still in its infancy. However it is possible to group the debate around four major observations which seem to hold the external European private law together and which indicate a move: (1) (from) legal rules and (to) legal practice; (2) (from) formal law making and (to) European governance; (3) (from) substantive law and (to) procedural law; (4) (from) private law and (to) trade law. It will have to be shown that the ‘from… to’ by and large corresponds to the distinction between traditional private law and regulatory private law. The paper is meant to set out a research design rather than coming up with proposals for solution.