Nr VIII in the ‘Ius Communitaties’ series is Michael Stürner’s 2025 volume ‘European Contract Law.’ It offers a comprehensive exposition of European contract law. With xlvii + 683 pages, Stürner presents a European perspective on contracts, not only as a translation of his German book of 2021 on the same subject, but stressing and displaying the non-German, European perspectives. Nevertheless, throughout the Volume, German law and literature remains very visible.
The author aims to provide both a doctrinal map and a practical guide to the fragmented yet increasingly harmonized field of EU contract law. The book is divided into four major parts. Part One lays out institutional and methodological foundations. Here, Stürner charts the sources and competences for contract law within the EU architecture, detailing how legislative authority arises under Article 114 TFEU and how its limits are set by the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Subjects of interest include the realisation of the European internal ‘Union’ market by using harmonisation of private law, concept and subject matter of European contract law, including techniques, ways and level of harmonisation with an instructive overview of major projects, such as the UNIDROIT Principles, PECL, DCFR (a ‘failure’) and the proposal for a Common European Sales Law (CESL), which died in the brutal beauty of political debate, but for which the author nevertheless sees some room.
The second part deals with substantive contract law. Stürner systematizes the evolution of contract formation (just a few words on contract negotiations, though), freedom of contract and contractual obligation, the use of standard terms, concluding of contracts and the rights of withdrawal and consequences of withdrawal, to signal a few of its chapters. In this part the author integrates ongoing contemporary developments such as smart contracts, the right to repair, digital content contracts, reflecting the Digital Single Market’s trajectory, the regulation of platforms, algorithms as a substitute for a contract and dynamic pricing. The interested reader will thus receive a good overview of these developments. In this part also attention for contracts related to consumer credit, package travel, timeshare, commercial agency and transport contracts.
Part three covers conflict of laws issues. It includes Stürner discussion of the tension between party autonomy and mandatory consumer protection. A welcome subject is the distinguishment between conflict rules (private international law, PIL) from substantive harmonization. A reading tip for practitioners dealing with transnational transactions is a 60-pages introduction into the Rome I Regulation, which applies to contractual obligations in civil and commercial matters with cross-border dimension. This part also contains an explanation for a conflict-of-laws regime for smart contracts and the ‘evergreen’ subjects of general PIL, such as renvoi, so-called preliminary questions, overriding mandatory provisions (domestic or from the lex fori), to name only a few examples.
The final fourth part situates European contract law within the broader landscape of EU private law, building a coherent system of EU contract law. It considers the role of courts and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and discusses coherence and consistency as systemic challenges. Stürner convincingly argues that the legitimacy of EU contract law depends not only on market efficiency but also on procedural fairness and judicial dialogue across Member States. He also dives into the methodology to develop a common European approach, and the role of courts in ensuring uniformity in interpretation.
The book closes with State liability for infringements of EU law and a short chapter about Alternative Dispute Resolution, ending (‘Rough Justice?’) with the complaint that contractual consumer law has become ‘… so complicated that it overburdens consumers and the judiciary alike’.
Stürner situates his work within the long trajectory of European legal integration, tracing how originally national concepts of contract law were increasingly shaped by the CJEU, legislative EU instruments and overarching principles embedded in the TFEU. It combines an academic approach with relevant practical notes. The book an ideal reference for academics and students. The coverage of new legal phenomena, such as automated contracting and online dispute resolution, distinguishes the volume from other European contract law handbooks. Legal practitioners will appreciate several of the themes as informative background in relation to ‘day-to-day’ contract drafting or contract related litigation.
I also see drawbacks. The book’s ambition seems to be to cover every dimension of contract law. This occasionally comes at the cost of depth in specific areas, for instance remedies and unfair terms or – where I am particularly interested in – multi-party contracts, e.g. a restructuring plan negotiated and concluded between a debtor in financial difficulties and his creditors, to prevent (formal) insolvency. And: with such a large amount of paper in the book, the reader would want targeted access. The index is clear, but rather short. The extensive table of contents only partially complements that index. The book also definitely lacks a Table of Cases. Sources after 2022 are relatively scarce.
In all, Stürner’s 2025 treatise is a comprehensive, methodologically sophisticated, and forward-looking exploration of the European contract law regime. Contract law (specifically in relation to consumers) within the EU is no longer a matter of national autonomy but part of an evolving transnational system governed by shared norms, judicial dialogue, and technological transformation. In the Netherlands, there is a debate about the question: is there ‘a world of difference’ between EU law and national contract law? Sturner’s book confirms the position of those who defend that the differences are smaller than they appear, given recent developments at the European level, including the establishment of broader (digital) market regulation. The book offers integration of legislative analysis, doctrinal synthesis, and cross-border dimension and is therefore a research platform for further study and a solid guide for teachers.
Michael Stürner, European Contract Law, Ius Communitatis VIII, Intersentia Lefebvre Group 2025, ISBN 978-1-83970-540-3
Note: this book I received free of charge from the publisher with the request to announce it or to review it on my blog at www.bobwessels.nl.