This public lecture is now available as: MP3 (please listen to the file below in three parts) and PDF (as a courtesy to the presenter, please contact him for permission to refer to his PowerPoint notes for the purpose of further research).

The EU has so far taken only hesitant steps towards the development of an autonomous, Europe-wide regime of private law. Initiatives have focused on equality/non-discrimination and consumer protection, the latter manifested in Directives on (for example) the sale of consumer goods, unfair contract terms and product liability. The legal basis for such reforms is limited and frequently disputed. Yet private law remains a focus of interest both in the European Commission and the European Parliament. In recent years, the Commission has been working towards a ‘common frame of reference’ intended to promote the coherence of private law in the EU, and in October 2011 it proposed a new ‘opt in’ legal regime for the sale of goods. This lecture will discuss the current initiatives in the context of previous developments in the area, and will address the prospects for the future introduction of a European Civil Code.

Ken Oliphant is Director of the Institute for European Tort Law of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Professor of Tort Law at the University of Bristol. He has written extensively in the fields of English and European tort law and compensation for incapacity. His books include Tort Law: Text & Materials (4th edn, Oxford University Press, 2010), co-authored with Mark Lunney (ANU). Ken previously held positions at King’s College London and Cardiff University. He chaired an independent 2011 working group of leading academic experts responding to Lord Justice Jackson’s proposals for reform of civil litigation costs. He is associated with several academic journals, including Journal of European Tort Law (founding General Editor), Torts Law Journal, and Journal of Law and Society. He is also a member of the European Group on Tort Law and the European Law Institute. 

To view the flyer for this event please see: Harmonizing Private Law in the European Union