The New French Contract Law and Its Impact on Commercial Law: Good Faith, Unfair Contract Terms and Hardship

Pedamon, C. 2018. The New French Contract Law and Its Impact on Commercial Law: Good Faith, Unfair Contract Terms and Hardship. in: Heidemann, M. and Lee, J. (ed.) The Future of the Commercial Contract in Scholarship and Law Reform: European and Comparative Perspectives Springer.

Chapter titleThe New French Contract Law and Its Impact on Commercial Law: Good Faith, Unfair Contract Terms and Hardship
AuthorsPedamon, C.
EditorsHeidemann, M. and Lee, J.
Abstract

This chapter considers the impact on commercial law of the new French Contract Law enacted in the Ordonnance No 2016-131 of 10 February 2016 through the lens of three major (and relatively innovative) provisions—good faith, unfair contract terms and hardship (imprévision). As ‘common’ law of contract, the revised French Civil Code provisions apply to all contracts, whatever their classification, be they civil or commercial; inevitably they can complement or clash with those in the Commercial Code.

After introducing the genesis and objectives of the French reform of contract law, the chapter analyses the commercial impact of the provisions relating to good faith, unfair contract terms and hardship successively. The author shows that commercial parties have an ever-greater incentive to draft clear terms in their contract if they want to steer away from the application of the new common law of contract and increased judicial oversight.

KeywordsFrench Law, Contract Law, Commercial Law, Good Faith, Unfair Contract Terms, Hardship
Book titleThe Future of the Commercial Contract in Scholarship and Law Reform: European and Comparative Perspectives
Year2018
PublisherSpringer
Publication dates
Published26 Nov 2018
ISBN9783319959689

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Explore this book chapter

The “Duty to Cooperate” in English and French Contract Law: One Channel, Two Distinct Views
Pedamon, C. and Vassileva, R. 2019. The “Duty to Cooperate” in English and French Contract Law: One Channel, Two Distinct Views. Journal of Comparative Law . 14 (1), pp. 1-25 No 1 (2019).

The paradoxes of the theory of imprévision in the new French law of contract: a judicial deterrent?
Pedamon, C. 2019. The paradoxes of the theory of imprévision in the new French law of contract: a judicial deterrent? Amicus Curiae. (112), pp. 10-17.

Judicial Interpretation of Commercial Contracts in English and French Law: A Comparative Perspective
Pedamon, C. 2021. Judicial Interpretation of Commercial Contracts in English and French Law: A Comparative Perspective . European Business Law Review. 36 (6), p. 1093 – 1124.

Contractual Performance in Covid-19 Times: Does Anglo-French Legal History Repeat Itself?
Pedamon, C. and Vassileva, R. 2021. Contractual Performance in Covid-19 Times: Does Anglo-French Legal History Repeat Itself? European Review of Private Law. 29 (1), pp. 3-38.

Hardship in transnational commercial contracts: a critique of legal, judicial and contractual remedies
Pedamon, C. and Chuah, J. 2013. Hardship in transnational commercial contracts: a critique of legal, judicial and contractual remedies. Paris Legal Publishers.

Overcoming Divergence in English and French Contract Law: A Common Taxonomy of Commercial Contracts
Pedamon, Catherine 2022. Overcoming Divergence in English and French Contract Law: A Common Taxonomy of Commercial Contracts. PhD thesis University of Westminster School of Law https://doi.org/10.34737/w13z3

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