Constitutionalization of European Private Law

Abstract

The impact of human rights and fundamental rights on private law has gained increasing prominence over the last five to ten years and has led to a number of in-depth studies. ‘Constitutionalization of private law’ is the flag under which most of the research on the increasing impact of national constitutional rights on national private legal orders sails. In the absence of a European Constitution, the constitutionalization of European private law suggests a process: constitutionalization rather than constituent power, demos, and the magical constitutional moment. The Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention of Human Rights constitute the two pillars upon which the transformation of European private law rests.