The German Schuldrechtsmodernisierung and the New Dutch Civil Code: A Study in Parallel

Jan M. Smits, University of Tilburg

Abstract

Both the Netherlands and Germany have recently introduced important reforms of their law of obligations. In the Netherlands, the new Civil Code of 1992 reformed the existing private law entirely, while Germany revised its law of obligations extensively in 2002. Both reforms were partly driven by similar motives. This contribution offers a comparison between these two reforms by considering five different points: the motives for re-codification in both countries, the unitary concept of breach of a duty, the right to a second chance to perform, prescription of claims for damages in case of personal injury and the way in which European directives are implemented in German and Dutch private law.