Comparative Insights on the Role of Values in Contract Law
M-EPLI welcomed Dr. Timothy Dodsworth on 19 February as a speaker in the M-EPLI Talks series. Dr. Dodsworth’s talk entitled, The Underlying Values of German and English Contract Law, focused on looking at German and English court decisions to extract insights into how legal systems balance competing values in contract law.
Understanding the Role of Values in Law
Dr. Dodsworth began by explaining that legal systems do not operate in a vacuum but rather are shaped by historical and cultural values. Despite widespread acknowledgment of the importance of values in legal systems, he asserts that there remains a lack of clarity about which values are present and how they are balanced. Dr. Dodsworth emphasised the necessity of a theoretical framework that translates judicial decisions into a common language, enabling meaningful comparisons of values across private law systems.
Comparative Insights: England vs. Germany
Dr. Dodsworth’s research seeks to clarify how values manifest in legal rulings to serve as a metric for comparative assessment. He illustrated how a comparison of English and German judicial decisions exposed key differences in attitudes toward certainty in contractual enforcement.
- England: Nominalism and non-interference are dominant principles. Courts in England favour upholding contracts as written, emphasising predictability and enforcing agreements with minimal judicial intervention.
- Germany: A less rigid approach allows for flexibility. The principle of frustration, for example, can lead to judicial interference when external circumstances change significantly, providing a contrast to England’s stricter stance.
By identifying and categorising the values underpinning legal decisions, Dr. Dodsworth’s framework acts as a mirror, helping legal scholars and practitioners evaluate whether these values align with the values society seeks to uphold while also tracing potential shifting in value systems over time.
The Challenge of Balancing Values
A crucial takeaway from the talk was that values in contract law are not static or binary; they exist in constant tension and must be weighed against one another. The comparative approach does not suggest that one legal system is superior but rather highlights different roles of values in different systems.
However, Dr. Dodsworth acknowledged the limitations of this framework. Legal systems evolve, and what is true today may not hold in the future. Additionally, while the comparative framework offers important insights, it may not be universally applicable to all jurisdictions or fully capture the nuances within a single legal system over time.
Future Implications
Ultimately, this research invites critical reflection: Are the values being upheld in contract law the ones society intends to prioritise? By making these underlying values explicit, legal professionals and policymakers can engage in a more informed discussion about the values that should guide judicial decision-making in the future.
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