The purposes of the DCFR

The purposes of the DCFR

6.A possible model for a political CFR. As already indicated, this

DCFR is (among other things) a possible model for an actual or ‘political’ Common Frame of Reference (CFR). The DCFR presents a concrete text, hammered out in all its detail, to those who will be deciding questions relating to a CFR. A ‘political’ CFR would not necessarily, of course, have the same coverage and contents as this academic DCFR. The question of which functions the DCFR can perform in the development of the CFR is considered under paragraphs 59-74 of this introduction.

7.Legal science, research and education. However, the DCFR ought not to be regarded merely as a building block of a ‘political’ Common Frame of Reference. The DCFR will stand on its own and retain its significance whatever happens in relation to a CFR. The DCFR is an academic text. It sets out the results of a large European research project and invites evaluation from that perspective. The breadth of that scholarly endeavour will be apparent when the full edition is published. Independently of the fate of the CFR, it is hoped that the DCFR will promote knowledge of private law in the jurisdictions of the European Union. In particular it will help to show how much national private laws resemble one another and have provided mutual stimulus for development – and indeed how much those laws may be regarded as regional manifestations of an overall common European legacy. The function of the DCFR is thus separate from that of the CFR in that the former serves to sharpen awareness of the existence of a European private law and also (via the comparative notes that will appear in the full edition) to demonstrate the relatively small number of cases in which the different legal systems produce substantially different answers to common problems. The DCFR may furnish the notion of a European private law with a new foundation which increases mutual understanding and promotes collective deliberation on private law in Europe.

8.A possible source of inspiration. The drafters of the DCFR nurture the hope that it will be seen also outside the academic world as a text from which inspiration can be gained for suitable solutions for pri-

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vate law questions. Shortly after their publication the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL)5, which the DCFR (in its second and third Books) incorporates in a partly revised form (see paragraphs 4953), received the attention of many higher courts in Europe and of numerous official bodies charged with preparing the modernisation of the relevant national law of contract. This development is set to continue in the context of the DCFR. It will have repercussions for reform projects within the European Union, at both national and Community law levels, and beyond the EU. If the content of the

5Ole Lando and Hugh Beale (eds.), Principles of European Contract Law Parts I and II. Prepared by the Commission on European Contract Law (The Hague 1999); Ole Lando, Eric Clive, André Prüm and Reinhard Zimmermann (eds.), Principles of European Contract Law Part III (The Hague, London and Boston 2003). Translations are available in French (Principes du droit européen du contract. Version française préparée par Georges Rouhette, avec le concours de Isabelle de Lamberterie, Denis Tallon et Claude Witz, Droit privé comparé et europeéen, vol. 2, Paris 2003); German (Grundregeln des Europäischen Vertragsrechts, Teile I und II, Kommission für Europäisches Vertragsrecht. Deutsche Ausgabe von Christian von Bar und Reinhard Zimmermann, München 2002; Grundregeln des Europäischen Vertragsrechts Teil III, Kommission für Europäisches Vertragsrecht. Deutsche Ausgabe von Christian von Bar und Reinhard Zimmermann, München 2005); Italian (Commissione per il Diritto Europeo dei Contratti. Principi di Diritto Europeo dei Contratti, Parte I & II, Edizione italiana a cura di Carlo Castronovo, Milano 2001; Commissione per il Diritto Europeo dei Contratti. Principi di Diritto Europeo dei Contratti, Parte III. Edizione italiana a cura di Carlo Castronovo, Milano 2005) and Spanish (Principios de Derecho Contractual Europeo, Partes I y II. Edición española a cargo de Pilar Barres Bennloch, José Miguel Embid Irujo, Fernando Martínes Sanz, Madrid 2003). Matthias Storme translated the articles of Parts I-III into Dutch (Tijdschrift voor privaatrecht 2005, 1181-1241); M.-A. Zachariasiewicz and J. Bełdowski translated the PECL articles of Parts I and II (Kwartalnik Prawa Prywatnego 3/2004, 814-881) and J. Bełdowski and A. Kozioł the articles of Part III (Kwartalnik Prawa Prywatnego 3/2006, 847-859) into the Polish language, Christian Takoff Parts I-III (Targovsko pravo 1/2005, 15-85) into the Bulgarian language.

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