Cambridge Scholars Publishing Constructing Modern European Private Law: A Hybrid System

The Europeanisation of European Private Law (EPL) is an ongoing process that has gained momentum with the communautarisation of judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters with the Amsterdam Treaty. This work examines the governance structure of EPL. It proves that more can be achieved towards the Europeanisation of private law through a new approach involving innovative modes of governance in EPL. In order to test this hypothesis, it is necessary to look at this exercise from three different angles. The first angle provides a study about the tools and the context with which one can further Europeanise private law and bridge the gaps between the main legal families, common law and civil law. The second angle encompasses a study of what has and what has not been achieved in the development of EPL by looking at both EU and non-EU initiatives. The final angle then examines the role of governance in the future development of EPL. As such, this study confirms that the further Europeanisation of EPL requires a multi-level mode of governance, confirming the traditional supra-national Community Method mode of governance in EPL with the introduction of intra-governmental innovative methods in EPL such as the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) and soft-law. These innovative modes, together with the traditional mode of governance, can take forward the development of EPL so that it can better serve the needs of the European legal community in the future. About the Author Ivan Sammut is a resident academic within the Department of European and Comparative Law at the Faculty of Laws of the University of Malta. Prior to joining the University as an academic, he practiced law in Malta and acted as a consultant in EU law, and was also employed by the European Commission for two years. He acts a freelance EU law consultant with various local law-firms, and has authored a number of reports for the European Commission. As a practicing lawyer in Malta, his practice specialises in EU law. He received his BA in Law and European Studies in 1999 and his Doctor of Laws in 2002 from the University of Malta. He was called to the Maltese bar in 2003, and subsequently received his LLM in European Legal Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, and a Magister Juris in European and Comparative law from the University of Malta. In 2010, he successfully defended his PhD thesis, on European private law, at the University of London. His teaching and research interests focus in particular on the EU internal market legislation, justice and home affairs law, competition law, European private law from a comparative perspective, and European private international law. He has published various articles in both Maltese and international peer-reviewed journals, such as the European Private Law Review.