The private law dimension of the EU regulatory framework for electronic communications : evidence of the self-sufficiency of European regulatory private law

Abstract

This thesis examines the contractual dimension of the EU Regulatory Framework for Electronic Communications. In particular, it provides a comprehensive legal analysis of the transformations occurring in private law as a result of the impact of EU telecommunications regulation on private law relationships. While the main focus in the Europeanization of private law has been on the sale of goods, this thesis engages the (concealed) private law dimension accompanying the, almost, all-encompassing sector-related framework that concerns the provision of a Service of General Economic Interest. This thesis scrutinizes the private law implications of the regulation of telecommunications services from cradle to grave; i.e. from its making to its enforcement. Hence, it does not only consider substance but also focuses on the institutional and procedural transformations taking place within the sector. Tested against empirical research, the thesis further assesses the self-sufficiency of sector-specific legislation as a separate regime of private law serving regulatory functions that operate independently of general contract rules. The thesis concludes by validating that self-sufficiency is actually occuring in view of the results yielded from the foregoing legal and empirical analysis and by providing a normative assessment of the transformation of private law which is taking place as a result of the shift in the focus of European private law from the failed European of civil code project to the regulation of areas beyond the core of private law.