The expert group tasked with advising the European Commission on EU-wide changes to contract law should have more input from English law practitioners, the Law Society said this week.

Society chief executive Desmond Hudson expressed concern that the panel is currently made up primarily of academics and practitioners from civil law systems, and called for the inclusion of lawyers from common law jurisdictions.

He said: ‘The profession [in England and Wales] has great experience working with other jurisdictions and on cross-border contracts and could offer valuable expertise. The Society is concerned that the expert group is mainly comprised of academics and some practitioners from civil law systems, and would welcome the direct involvement of common law practitioners in the drafting process.’

The commission is in the early stages of drafting a non-binding legal ‘toolbox’ to harmonise contract law across Europe, and has issued a green paper on the topic. Chancery Lane said it remains ‘deeply concerned’ that the benefits of the proposal ‘have not been demonstrated’ and there is an ‘urgent need for an impact assessment of the key options in the green paper’.

The Society responded to a Ministry of Justice consultation on the commission’s plans in December, after consulting widely with the profession. Chancery Lane said it is examining ‘alternative solutions’ to improving cross-border trade, noting that the use of English contract law provides ‘substantial benefits’ to UK Plc.

The commission argues that action is needed to reduce the divergence of contract laws, and has suggested creating a ‘common frame of reference’, bringing together legal concepts, definitions and principles based on the laws of all member states.