Sunday 25 July 2010

The influence of European consumer law on national legal systems - conference in Katowice 23-24.09.2010

The Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland organizes a conference 23-24 September 2010 on 'The influence of European consumer law on national legal systems'. Registration for the conference is possible until 10 September 2010.


The aim of the conference is to discuss the most recent developments in European Private Law, and additionally the impact of European consumer legislation on the indigenous legal systems of Member States, with a focus on the Polish example. This conference takes place in light of the ongoing harmonisation of private law in the EU, and EU consumer law in particular, as well as the current drafting of the new Civil Code for Poland, which is likely to be heavily influenced by European consumer law.
The guests invited for the first day of the conference include representatives of the European Parliament, the European Commission and international experts involved in the process of drafting the Common Frame of Reference. They will present new EU ideas concerning the future of private law harmonisation and the ‘optional instrument’. Discussing these issues is particularly interesting in the context of the recent developments in the area of private law at the European level, i.e. the commencement of work of the Expert Group established by the European Commission and the publication of Communication of the Commission on the future of private law in the EU, as well as the upcoming Polish Presidency in 2011.
The second day of the conference will focus on the impact of EU consumer law on national legal systems, taking the example of drafting the new Polish Civil Code. During this session, members and academics who work for the Polish Civil Law Codification Commission will analyse the problems arising from the implementation of EU consumer legislation into a system of private law based on a civil code. The speakers will concentrate on the problems relating to the differences between the structure and systematics of a national legal system based on a civil code, and European consumer law based on directives. They will also discuss the possibility of using legal instruments such as the DCFR as a source of inspiration in overcoming the difficulties.