Jan M. Smits holds the Chair of European Private Law and Comparative Law in the University of Tilburg (The Netherlands). He directs the new Tilburg Institute of Comparative and Transnational Law (TICOM). His publications and teaching are in the fields of European private law, comparative law and legal theory. Jan Smits was previously a professor of European private law at Maastricht University. He holds a doctorate from Leiden University, was a visiting professor at several foreign universities and is a co-editor of various law journals and book series. In 2004, he was appointed a honorary judge in the Amsterdam Court of Appeal. A full CV (including a list of publications) can be downloaded at this website (click on the right).
Comparative Law
Human Dignity and Uniform Law: An Unhappy Relationship, Essays In Honor of Saul Litvinoff (2008)
This contribution argues that there is no `transnational' concept of human dignity or of public...
Nordic Law in a European Context, Nordic Law - Between Tradition and Dynamism (2007)
This contribution looks at Nordic law in a comparative perspective. It discusses four features of...
Legal Culture as Mental Software, or: How to Overcome National Legal Culture?, Private Law and the Many Cultures of Europe (2007)
The concept of legal culture plays an important role in the debate about the unification...
The Principle of Unjust Enrichment and Formation of Contract: the Importance of a Hidden Policy Factor, European Review of Private Law (2006)
The two types of situations discussed in this contribution show how the principle against unjust...
Private Law and Fundamental Rights: A Sceptical View, Constitutionalisation of Private Law (2006)
Over the last decade or so, many European countries have seen a growing influence of...
European Private Law
Contract Law in the European Union: Convergence or Not?, Sammelband Europaischer Juristentag 4 (2008)
This contribution argues that convergence of (European) contract law should not be found in uniform...
The Draft-Common Frame of Reference (CFR) for a European Private Law: Fit for Its Purpose?, Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law (2008)
This brief editorial (to be published in the Maastricht Journal) discusses the Draft-Common Frame of...
Convergence of Private Law in Europe: Towards a New Ius Commune?, COMPARATIVE LAW: A HANDBOOK (2007)
This contribution - a chapter in a well-known textbook on comparative law - discusses several...
Law Making in the European Union: On Globalization and Contract Law in Divergent Legal Cultures, Louisiana Law Review (2007)
An important problem of law making in a globalizing world is how to deal with...
European Private Law: A Plea for a Spontaneous Legal Order, European Integration and Law: Four Contributions on the Interplay between European Integration and European and National Law (2006)
This contribution focuses on European integration through private law. After a sketch of the existing...