Competition in international sales law: introduction to special issue

In 2011 the European Commission published a proposal for a Regulation on a Common European Sales Law (CESL). This contribution forms the introduction to a special issue of the European Buniness Law Review, discussing the proposed CESL from the viewpoint of competition. If the CESL would be introduced, commercial parties engaged in cross-border transactions within the European Union will have to make an informed choice between the available legal regimes (CESL, CISG and national laws). The question then becomes which of these regimes is the most attractive for parties. The common theme throughout the contributions by Dalhuisen, Kornet, Kruisinga, Low and Meyer is that the Common European Sales Law in its present form will not be an attractive competitor on the European law market.