Tying the knot in European private law

Abstract

This article attempts to contribute to the debate of how the legal families are to be reconcilable, if need be, to achieve a European private law. The debate kicks off through an analysis of comparative law. Nowadays, comparative law plays a very important role in bridging differences between different legal systems and academics, practitioners and judges alike are becoming increasingly aware of how their colleagues in other Member States tackle similar legal issues. Having established the role of comparative law, the article then moves on to list, describe, and discuss the possible tools that can be used to achieve Europeanized private law. Achieving Europeanization is one thing, moving on to codification is another issue. The article concludes with a discussion on the role of codification in the process of Europeanizing private law and if it would be desirable to have eventually a European civil code.