The Weber/Putz ‘Proportionality principle’: Determining Subsequent Performance Anew?

Abstract:

Although the European Court of Justice rendered its Weber/Putz judgment as long ago as three years, the turmoil since then in both academia and practice has not abated. Indeed, the significance of the ‘proportionality principle’ for European contract law can hardly be overestimated, as the ECJ basically established by this judgment, with or without intent, a doctrine of general strict liability in contract law, which so far as only existed in but a few European legal systems beyond common law. This paper compares the reception of the Weber/Putz decision in a major Western European legal system (Germany) with the approach of a minor Central European legal system (Estonia), also taking into account the judgment’s impact on the future development of European contract law.