Between contract law and financial regulation: towards the Europeanisation of general contract law

Abstract:

This paper explores the interactions between the general law of contract and the EU derived financial regulatory duties. Starting from the analysis of the legal nature of the EU-derived conduct of business rules duties and the role played by contract law in the governance of financial markets, the paper shows that, after the global financial crisis, national courts have used the remedies based on general contract law as tools to enforce the EU-derived conduct of business rules and to ensure a high level of client protection.

The paper argues that this case law provides evidence of a gradual process of Europeanisation and modernisation of the general law of contract, i.e. of transformation of traditional autonomy-driven categories of general contract law into regulatory tools to govern financial transactions and increase the protection of investors.