The Expanding Circle of Contract Law

Abstract

People and corporations are increasingly held liable in private law for the external effects of their actions, in particular in cases that involve some fundamental aspect of “justice” such as severe violations of labour standards or threats to the environment. These public interests are traditionally guarded by the state, but are now increasingly enforced by private individuals, in particular in cross-border situations where the injustice takes place in a “far-away” country. This contribution explores what is the potential of contract law in dealing with “private law justice across borders.” It asks whether the doctrine of privity of contract should be traded in for an approach that better takes the externalities of contracts into account. It is argued that current contract law is ill-suited to deal with this challenge and should adopt new techniques to expand the circle of people contract law seeks to protect.