Chris Jansen – författare

The Study Group on a European Civil Code has taken upon itself the task of drafting common European principles for the most important aspects of the law of obligations and for certain parts of the law of property in movables which are especially relevant for the functioning of the common market. Like the Commission on European Contract Law's Principles of European Contract Law, the results of the research conducted by the Study Group on a European Civil Code seek to advance the process of Europeanization of private law. Among other topics the series tackles sales and service contracts, distribution contracts and security rights, renting contracts and loan agreements, negotiorum gestio, delicts and unjustified enrichment law, transfer of property, and trust law. The principles furnish each of the national jurisdictions a grid reference. They can be agreed upon by the parties within the framework of the rules of private international law. They may provide a stimulus to both the national and European legislator for moulding private law. Beyond this, they aim to further discussion about the creation of a European Civil Code, or a Common Frame of Reference in the area of patrimonial law, by submitting a concrete model. The Principles of European Law are published in co-operation with Bruylant (Belgium), Sellier. European Law Publishers (Germany) and Staempfli Publishers Ltd. (Switzerland).

Governments are increasingly trying to achieve a variety of public interests through competitive tendering of public contracts, authorisations, subsidies as well as public assets. Over the past decades, domestic and EU law has developed for these 'limited rights' at different speed and is extremely fragmented: there is no coherent legal framework. This book provides information on the legal aspects of competitive allocation of all types of limited rights on the basis of an overarching perspective. It explains the impact of the legal framework on the ability of governments to achieve the public interests they pursue through competitive tendering. The book is relevant for domestic and EU public authorities, legislators, courts of law, as well as academics. It discusses and connects in a consistent manner, legal questions arising in the framework of competitive allocation of public contracts, authorisations, subsidies and public assets.

The rules presented in this volume of "Principles of European Law" deal with service contracts. The economic importance of service contracts within the European Union is enormous. The European Commission recently estimated that services account for some 50% of EU GDP and for some 60% of employment in the Union – though an exact figure is hard to determine given that many services are provided by manufacturers of goods. According to the European Commission, many services appear in official statistics as manufacturing activity, meaning that the role of services in the economy is often significantly underestimated.