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Uncovering European Private Law: A Student Handbook - cover image

Copyright

Marija Bartl; Laura Burgers; Chantal Mak. Copyright of individual chapters are maintained by the chapter author(s).

Published On

2025-06-05

ISBN

Paperback978-1-80511-505-2
Hardback978-1-80511-506-9
PDF978-1-80511-507-6
HTML978-1-80511-509-0
EPUB978-1-80511-508-3

Language

  • English

Print Length

368 pages (xvi+352)

Dimensions

Paperback178 x 26 x 254 mm(7.01" x 1.02" x 10")
Hardback178 x 29 x 254 mm(7.01" x 1.14" x 10")

Weight

Paperback864g (30.48oz)
Hardback1079g (38.06oz)

THEMA

  • LNB
  • LNA
  • LNV
  • LBDK
  • KJJ
  • GTQ

BISAC

  • LAW014000
  • LAW016000
  • LAW059000
  • LAW011000

Keywords

  • European private law
  • Comparative legal systems
  • Contract and tort law
  • Transnational legal frameworks
  • Sustainability in law
  • Digitalization in private law

Uncovering European Private Law

A Student Handbook

Aimed at bridging a crucial gap in legal education, Uncovering European Private Law provides a comprehensive introduction to the evolving field of European private law. This innovative handbook addresses the interplay of national, European, and transnational rules governing relationships between private actors, including individuals and businesses. Designed with students in mind, this volume not only covers foundational concepts but also explores cutting-edge developments in areas such as contract, tort, property, and company law.

What sets this handbook apart is its contextual approach. By integrating societal and theoretical perspectives, it encourages students to critically evaluate private law's role in addressing global challenges like digitalization, sustainability, and globalization. Gathering the expertise of over twenty international law scholars, the handbook reflects the expertise of academics deeply engaged in teaching and research.

With structured chapters and accessible narratives, this handbook replaces piecemeal materials previously used in courses. It offers coherence and depth, making it an essential resource for understanding the legal frameworks that shape commerce, legal practice, and broader societal issues. Whether for mandatory or elective courses, this guide empowers students to navigate and critically assess the dynamic field of European private law providing an essential resource for the private lawyers of the future.

Endorsements

Uncovering European Private Law is an academically rigorous and highly accessible book. Authored by renowned experts in their field, the book offers significant contributions to the existing literature by introducing fresh perspectives and presenting current debates in an original manner. This volume represents a valuable resource for students, academics, and practitioners alike, seamlessly complementing the existing body of work in this area.

Prof Ivan Sammut

University of Malta

Additional Resources

[document]EPUB Accessibility Report

Contents

1. The Evolving Concept of Private Law in Europe

(pp. 3–19)
  • Laura Burgers
  • Marija Bartl
  • Chantal Mak

2. (In)justice in European Private Law

(pp. 23–44)
  • Martijn Hesselink

3. Negative Integration, European Private Law, and the Government’s Role in the Marketplace

(pp. 45–64)
  • Jaap Baaij

4. Positive Integration: Harmonisation of National Law through Directives and Regulations

(pp. 65–88)
  • Marco Loos

5. Human Rights in Private Law

(pp. 89–105)
  • Chantal Mak

6. Bona fides (Good Faith) in European Private Law

(pp. 109–126)
  • Talya Deibel

7. Concepts of Ownership in European Property Law: Centralising the Social Function of Ownership

(pp. 127–154)
  • Eva Vermeulen

8. Limited Liability through the Lens of Expected Value Analysis

(pp. 155–170)
  • Michael Bakker
  • Rolef de Weijs

9. Consumers in European Private Law

(pp. 171–190)
  • Joasia Luzak

10. Social Enterprises and the Role of Profit in Company Law

(pp. 193–206)
  • Nena van der Horst
  • Marleen van Uchelen

11. Financial Crises and European Private Law

(pp. 207–228)
  • Guido Comparato

12. The Construction of European Housing Markets through European Private Law

(pp. 229–254)
  • Irina Dorumath

13. Data Subjects in European Private Law

(pp. 255–272)
  • Antonio Davola

14. EU Sustainable Finance Regulation: An Analysis in the Context of Contemporary Debates in European Private Law

(pp. 273–293)
  • Jennifer de Lange-Collins

15. Private Law and Political Economy

(pp. 297–310)
  • Marija Bartl

16. Methods of Comparative Legal Research: How to Set Up and Carry Out a Comparative Legal Research Project

(pp. 311–342)
  • Marieke Oderkerk

Contributors

Marija Bartl

(editor)
Professor of Transnational Private Law at the Amsterdam Law School at University of Amsterdam
Director of the Amsterdam Centre for Transformative Private Law at University of Amsterdam
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4380-9961
https://www.uva.nl/profiel/b/a/m.bartl/m.bartl.html

Prof. Dr. Marija Bartl is Professor of Transnational Private Law at the Amsterdam Law School and the Director of the Amsterdam Centre for Transformative Private Law (ACT). She is a (co)president of European Law Unbound-Society and the editor of European Law Open. She has taught several courses, including ‘European Contract Law’, ‘Private Law in European and International Perspective’, ‘Law as a Change-Maker’, and ‘Making Markets Beyond the State’. Bartl has held appointments as a Fernand Braudel Fellow at the European University Institute, a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Nantes, Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Law School, Boston University and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Law in Hamburg. She has recently published an open access monograph Reimagining prosperity: Toward a New Imaginary of Law and Political Economy in the EU (CUP, 2024). Currently, Bartl is working on her ERC-funded project ‘Law as a Vehicle for Social Change: Mainstreaming Non-Extractive Economic Practices (N-EXTLAW)’, exploring how private law may help mainstream ‘non-extractive economic practices’. See https://www.uva.nl/profiel/b/a/m.bartl/m.bartl.html

Laura Burgers

(editor)
Assistant Professor at the Amsterdam Centre for Transformative private law (ACT) at the law faculty at University of Amsterdam
https://www.uva.nl/en/profile/b/u/l.e.burgers/l.e.burgers.html

Dr. Laura Burgers works as an Assistant Professor at the Amsterdam Law School and ACT. Her research is situated at the intersection of sustainability issues, private law, fundamental rights, and legal theory. Her interests include climate litigation, rights of future generations and rights of nature. She teaches in the University of Amsterdam’s (UvA) private law programmes, supervises an Environmental Justice Clinic and coordinates a five-hundred-student bachelor course on law and sustainability. She works often with societal partners including the artistic-philosophical collective Embassy of the North Sea. She is one of the national experts in the United Nations (UN) program Harmony with Nature. See https://www.uva.nl/en/profile/b/u/ l.e.burgers/l.e.burgers.html

Chantal Mak

(editor)
Professor of Private law at the Amsterdam Centre for Transformative Private Law (ACT) at University of Amsterdam
Programme Director of the LL.M. in Transnational and European private law at the Amsterdam Law School at University of Amsterdam
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8236-7242
https://www.uva.nl/profiel/m/a/c.mak/c.mak.html#Publicaties

Prof. Dr. Chantal Mak is Professor of Private Law, specialising in fundamental rights and private law, at the Amsterdam Law School and ACT. She is a teacher and former programme director of the LL.M. in transnational and European Private Law at the Amsterdam Law School. Her research focuses on the legal-theoretical and constitutional legal framework for private law in Europe, with a special interest for the role of the judiciary in European Private Law. See https://www.uva.nl/profiel/m/a/c. mak/c.mak.html