The EU codification of Private Law: Between Constitutional and Regulatory Rationales

Until recently, the notion of private law has been closely tied up with the concept of a nation-state. There are no doubts that national private law reflects the achievements of national legal tradition and national identity, at the same time preserving historical memory and reassuring democratic legitimacy, thus presenting a unique cultural value per se for the relevant state. However, the narrative of the twentieth century introduced changes to the classical ideas of cross-border cooperation and trade, and even redefined the ideas of a Westphalian State. New processes of a deeper regional integration have made a significant impact on Europe: the classical definitions of governance, economic growth, the role of the legal system and law-making have ceased to exhaustively fit the European context.