At head of title: E.M. Meijers Institute of Legal Studies.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material / Tom Barkhuysen and Siewert D. Lindenberg -- 1 Fundamental Rights Talk an Enrichment of Legal Discourse in Private Law? / Hans Nieuwenhuis -- 2 Private Law and Fundamental Rights: a Sceptical View / Jan Smits -- 3 Some Thoughts on the Impact of Fundamental Rights on Dutch Company Law / Vino Timmerman -- 4 Applicability Of Fundamental Rights In Private Law: What Is The Legislature To Do? an Intermezzo from a Constitutional Point of View / Wim Voermans -- 5 Constitutionalisation of Private Law: the European Convention on Human Rights Perspective / Tom Barkhuysen and Michiel Van Emmerik -- 6 Constitutionalisation of Private Law - the German Perspective / Gert Brggemeier -- 7 The Constitutionalisation of Private Law in the Uk: Is There an Emperor inside the New Clothes? / Stathis Banakas -- 8 The Constitutionalisation of Private Lawin the Netherlands / Siewert Lindenbergh -- Contributors / Tom Barkhuysen and Siewert D. Lindenberg -- Index / Tom Barkhuysen and Siewert D. Lindenberg.

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All over Europe we witness a spectacular rise of the recourse to fundamental rights in debates on civil liability. This is part of a pervasive process of constitutionalisation, of private law in general and tort law in particular. This publication aims at establishing a clear analysis of the nature and growth of the C-factor (C for constitutionalisation) in Germany, France, the UK and The Netherlands. This analysis will be followed by answering the questions: How are these developments to be judged? Does the C-factor seriously undermine the autonomy of private law (‘The purpose of private law is simply to be private law’, Ernest J. Weinrib, The Idea of Private Law )? And if so, does it matter? How are we to handle the C-factor? Should we embrace it wholeheartedly, or rather adopt a policy of being neglect or even try to eradicate it altogether?