Tilburg Institute for Private Law (TIP)
Private Law and Globalization: Theory and Practice
To what extent, and in what ways, is private law responsive to
globalization and its challenges?
Kick-off Conference / Openingscongres
Tilburg University,
18 March 2016 / 18 maart 2016
Venue / locatie: Faculty Club
The Tilburg Institute for Private Law (TIP), established in 2015, studies private law in its
societal context. The central question in the current research programme of the Institute is
to what extent, and in what ways, private law is responsive to changes in the nature of
private law relationships in times of globalization.
This kick-off conference explores current viewpoints on this question from the perspectives
of theory and practice.
Programme / Programma
9:30-10:00
Registration / registratie
10:00-10:10
Opening – Prof. Corien Prins, Dean of Tilburg Law School
10:10-10:30
Presenting TIP – Prof. Vanessa Mak, director
10:30-12:00
Workshop 1 – Lawmaking in a multilevel legal order
12:00-13:00
Lunch
13:00-14:45
Workshop 2 – Judicial dialogues
14:45-15:00
Coffee / Koffie
15:00-16:30
PARALLEL WORKSHOPS:
Workshop 3 – Legal education (venue: CZ 121)
Workshop 4 – Rechtsvorming door de Hoge Raad
16:30-17:30
Drinks reception / borrel
WORKSHOPS
In four workshops, we discuss the responsiveness of private law in relation to the following
themes:
Workshop 1 - Lawmaking in a multilevel legal order
Chair: Prof. Vanessa Mak (Tilburg)
‘Who does what at what level of regulation?’ is the question that perhaps best captures the
discussion in this area. The initial focus of research on cross-border private law transactions
was on how private law could best facilitate international contracting. That question is still
important, but it has also been recognized that private law might have a role in securing the
protection of weaker parties in the transnational market place (e.g. consumers or small
businesses). This workshop explores to what extent national, positivist private law is able to
respond to the challenges of the global market, and which alternative frameworks for
lawmaking might be considered. Specific attention will be paid to the EU’s efforts at
harmonization of private laws, most recently in the form of a proposal for a Common
European Sales Law (CESL, of which a new version is expected in December 2015).
Speakers:
Prof. Christoph Busch (Osnabrück)
Dr. Rafał Mańko (European Parliamentary Research Service)
Workshop 2 - Judicial dialogues
Chair: Prof. Marc Loth (Tilburg)
The centre of judicial lawmaking has shifted from the case law of highest national courts to
the dialogues between those courts and the supra-national courts, the ECJ and the ECtHR in
particular. This simple observation raises several questions of great complexity, both of
judicial and academic relevance. For practitioners and judges, the question is how to
influence and conduct those dialogues. For academics, the problem is how to make sense of
the process of judicial lawmaking through dialogues between different courts. All of them
are puzzled by the relations between the courts involved, and the facilitators and the
obstacles for constructive cooperation in the judicial domain.
Speakers:
Justice Jos Silvis (European Court of Human Rights)
Justice Marko Ilešič (Court of Justice of the EU)
PARALLEL WORKSHOPS 3 AND 4:
Workshop 3 - Legal education
Chair: Prof. Eric Tjong Tjin Tai (Tilburg)
Legal education in the last century has usually concentrated on one national jurisdiction that
the students need to master. The recognition of the European multilevel legal order, and the
general global developments in regulation have however modified the demands made on
lawyers in practice. The question is whether legal education should keep up with these
demands, and in what way. Is it possible and desirable to teach the law from a non-national
perspective? One might argue that thinking like a lawyer implies the ability to find
arguments and know limitations within a complete legal system, which seems to preclude a
purely comparative education that cherry picks isolated doctrines. On the other hand there
are earlier experiences in teaching the law on a not directly positive legal basis such as the
ius commune or the US Uniform Commercial Code. In this workshop practitioners and
lecturers will debate, and aim at clarifying the issues and possibilities for global legal
education.
Speakers:
Prof. Martijn Scheltema (Rotterdam / Pels Rijcken, The Hague)
Dr. Bram Akkermans (Maastricht)
Dr. Melanie van den Berg (Achmea)
Workshop 4 – Rechtsvorming door de Hoge Raad
Voorzitter: Prof.mr. Jan Vranken
emeritus hoogleraar privaatrecht, Universiteit van Tilburg en oud-advocaat generaal Hoge
Raad der Nederlanden
In deze workshop staat de wijze waarop de Hoge Raad zijn rechtsvormende taak op het
terrein van het privaatrecht uitoefent centraal. Uitgangspunt daarbij is het artikel van mr.
Floris Bakels: 'Totstandkoming en uitleg van uitspraken van de Hoge Raad' (Ars Aequi
december 2015) dat door mr. Bakels kort nader zal worden toegelicht.
Reinout Wibier zal vervolgens ingaan op de wijze waarop de Hoge Raad zijn rechtsvormende
rol heeft ingevuld bij de problematiek van contractuele onoverdraagbaarheidsbedingen (HR
17 januari 2003, NJ 2004, 281 m.nt. H.J. Snijders (Oryx/Van Eesteren) en HR 21 maart 2014,
NJ 2015, 167 m.nt. H.J. Snijders (Coface Finanz/Intergamma).
Stéphanie van Gulijk bespreekt de rechtsvormende taak van de Hoge Raad ten aanzien van
het leerstuk contract en derde, bezien vanuit de reikwijdte van het relativiteitsbeginsel. Zij
doet dit met name aan de hand van een analyse van het Eneco Tour arrest (HR 14 juli 2014,
NJ 2015, 2 m.nt. T.F.E. Tjong Tjin Tai).
Na deze drie inleidingen zal er ruimschoots gelegenheid zijn voor een discussie met de
aanwezigen aan de hand van een aantal stellingen.
Sprekers:
mr. Floris Bakels, vice-president Hoge Raad der Nederlanden
prof.mr. Reinout Wibier, hoogleraar privaatrecht, Universiteit van Tilburg
mw. mr. dr. S. van Gulijk, universitair hoofddocent privaatrecht, Universiteit
van Tilburg