The provisions of the French Civil Code governing the law of obligations have remained largely unchanged since 1804 and have served as the model for civil codes across the world. In 2016, the French Government effected major reforms of the provisions on the law of contract, the general regime of obligations and proof of obligations. This work explores in detail the most interesting new provisions on French contract law in a series of essays by French lawyers and comparative lawyers working on French law and other civil law systems. It will make these fundamental reforms accessible to an English-speaking audience.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction SIMON WHITTAKER AND JOHN CARTWRIGHT Part I: The Background to the Reforms 2. The Process of Elaboration of the Reform of the Law of Contract BÉNÉDICTE FAUVARQUE-COSSON, JULIETTE GEST AND FRANÇOIS ANCEL I. Introduction II. The Context of the Reform III. The Three Periods of the Process of Reform Part II: The New Provisions Critically Examined 3. Contracts, Contract Law and Contractual Principle SIMON WHITTAKER I. Introduction II. Identifying ‘Contract Law’ III. The Portrait of French Contract Law in the Reformed Code Civil IV. Conclusion A: The Creation of a Valid Contract 4. Formation of Contract: Negotiation and the Process of Agreement RUTH SEFTON-GREEN I. Precontractual Negotiations: Freedom and Good Faith II. Offer and Acceptance III. Pre-contracts IV. Conclusion 5. Validity of Contract: Dol, Erreur and Obligation d’Information CAROLE AUBERT DE VINCELLES I. Precontractual Information Obligations II. The Defects in Consent 6. Violence in the Reformed Napoleonic Code: the Surprising Survival of Third Parties CIARA KENNEFICK I. Introduction II. Duress by Third Parties III. Duress on Third Parties IV. Conclusion B: The Content and Effects of Contracts 7. The Content of Contracts: Prestation, Objet, but No Longer la Cause? LAURENT AYNÈS I. Introduction II. From Objet to the Content of the Contract III. From la Cause to Something in Return (la Contrepartie) 8. The Revolution in Unfair Terms PHILIPPE STOFFEL-MUNCK I. Introduction II. Article 1170: the General Provision III. Article 1171: the Special Provision 9. Mandatory and Non-mandatory Rules in the New Law of Contract CÉCILE PÉRÈS I. Formal Recognition II. Qualifications on the General Non-mandatory Character of the Provisions III. The Retreat of Freedom of Contract 10. Does Review on the Ground of Imprévision Breach the Principle of the Binding Force of Contracts? BÉNÉDICTE FAUVARQUE-COSSON I. Introduction II. From Contractual Stability to Greater Flexibility: How New Article 1195 Finally Reached a Good Balance III. Imprévision in the Reform of Contract Law: Related Issues IV. Conclusion 11. The Proprietary Effects of Contracts GENEVIÈVE HELLERINGER I. Introduction II. The New Provisions of the Code Civil III. Critical Appraisal 12. The Effects of Contracts and Third Parties JEAN-SÉBASTIEN BORGHETTI I. Introduction II. The Relative Effect of the Contract III. The ‘Opposability’ of Contracts IV. Conclusion C: Contractual Non-performance and its Remedies 13. Exécution Forcée en Nature YVES-MARIE LAITHIER I. Introduction II. The New Provisions of the Code Civil Relating to the Performance in Kind of Contractual Obligations III. The State of the Law as it Stood Before the Reform of 10 February 2016 IV. Comparative Perspectives on the New Provisions V. Critical Observations 14. The Exception d’Inexécution THOMAS GENICON I. Introduction II. Considerations Common to Articles 1219 and 1220 III. Article 1219: The Defence of Proven Non-performance IV. Article 1220: The Defence of Anticipated Non-performance 15. Termination for Contractual Non-performance SOLÈNE ROWAN I. Introduction II. The New Provisions on Termination: Description and Comparison with the 1804 Code III. Comparative Observations on the New Provisions of the Code Civil IV. An Assessment of the New Provisions on Termination V. Conclusion Part III: Refl ections from Other Civil Laws 16. The New Design of the French Law of Contract and Obligations: An Italian View PIETRO SIRENA I. The French Reform in the Eyes of Italian Scholarship II. The Rise of a French Law of Obligations within Book III of the Code Napoléon III. The New Article 1100 Code Napoléon and the Rest of its New Title III on the Sources of Obligations IV. The New Article 1101 Code Napoléon and the Definition of Contract V. The New Article 1105 Code Napoléon and the Division between the General Part and the Special Part of Contract Law VI. The New Article 1128 Code Napoléon and the Requirements for the Validity of Contract VII. The New Chapter of the Code Napoléon on Formation of Contract and the Duty to Disclose During Precontractual Negotiations VIII. The Degree of Innovation Afforded by the French Reform and the Meaning of a Contemporary Civil (Re-)Codification 17. A Spanish Perspective on the General Theory of Contract ESTHER ARROYO AMAYUELAS I. Introduction II. General Overview of the Reform (Title III) III. Some Issues of Interest IV. Final Reflections 18. La Troisième Jeunesse du Code Civil: A German Lawyer Looks at the Reform of French Contract Law BIRKE HÄCKER I. Background II. General Remarks III. Specific Comments IV. Conclusion