Transnational Contract Law: Lando’s Contribution and the Way Forward

Abstract

The lecture outlines how Lando’s thinking progressed, beginning with Private International Law and moving through the harmonization of European Law to, in the later part of his career, the idea of a Global Code. It considers the extent and form of harmonization that has taken place to date, and then the changes that are taking place in transnational contracting and their implications for both the substance and the form of any future harmonizing measures. The lecture concludes by exploring a possible way forward for overcoming differences between the laws for business-to-business contracts, involving an ‘optional’ soft law approach under which traders would voluntarily agree to be bound by the chosen soft law principles.