Harmonizing contract law without a common terminology: comparative law perspectives

The chapter examines the various forces at play in the harmonization of European
contract law. After briefly recalling the efforts of the EU institutions to harmonize
contract terminology, the chapter examines the different choices made by national legislators in relation to EU law-derived contract law, mainly consumer
law. It examines the choice made by the German legislator, which attempted to
bring all consumer law under the umbrella of the Civil Code, comparing it with
other civil law systems, in particular the French, Italian, and Spanish ones, where
different choices were made. Finally, particular attention is paid to the UK. The
chapter also focuses on the attitude of national interpreters to European directives
and their terminology. It further looks to the criteria developed by the CJEU in
interpreting multilingual legislation and the attitudes of national judges to them,
and the different perspectives of legal scholars working in different jurisdictions. It
further deals with the attitude of national judges to multilingual interpretation in
the implementation of EU law, which may depend on several variables. Finally, the
chapter focuses on the role of the English language in developing common terminology for harmonized EU contract law, a role which may change after Brexit.