The Digital Single Market and Legal Certainty: A Critical Analysis

Abstract

This chapter critically examines the CESL from the viewpoint of its capability to provide legal certainty for commercial actors. This chapter’s analysis focuses on three important stages in the life cycle of a contract, seen from a business perspective: the scope rules that determine whether the CESL applies to a contract (para. 5.2), the interpretation of entire agreement clauses (para. 5.3) and the legal consequences of a breach of contract (para. 5.4). The chapter concludes that, with a few notable exceptions, the CESL rules do not enable contracting parties to predict, with a sufficient degree of certainty, the legal consequences of entering into the contract. From a business perspective, the CESL rules are therefore not crafted well enough to serve as a blueprint for future legislation.