EU proposals may spell the end for UK contract law

The UK's domestic contract law could soon be relegated to the dustbin, if EU proposals to introduce standardised legislation in all its member countries go ahead.

A European Commission communication on the issue suggested that varying contract laws across Europe are adding to the costs of cross-border transactions.

The commission presented three options for overhauling contract law, the most radical of which is the compulsory replacement of existing national laws with 'an overall text comprising provisions on general questions of contract law as well as specific contracts'.

Softer options included devloping common contract law principles into guidelines.Paula Rohan