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Nordic Law in European Context pp 115–133Cite as

Contracting with a Social Dimension

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Part of the book series: Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice ((IUSGENT,volume 73))

Abstract

The Nordic countries show great similarities in contract law. The countries have no civil code, while important parts of private law have been regulated by individual acts. In the first half of the 20th century, the countries succeeded in harmonizing central parts of contract law through the Nordic Contract Acts. After the 1980s, both CISG and EU law have influenced Nordic contract law. The most important general principles are the principle of freedom of contract, the principle of legitimate expectations, the principle of loyalty and the principle of protecting the weaker party. The social dimension of Nordic contract law has gained particular emphasis through the idea of social civil law in consumer law and in the regulation of debt adjusting.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Zweigert and Kötz (1998), p. 277.

  2. 2.

    See Chap. 1, Andersen and Runesson (2015), pp. 15–17; Lando et al. (2016), pp. 18–24; Zweigert and Kötz (1998), pp. 284–285.

  3. 3.

    Denmark: Købeloven 2014 no 140, Finland: Kauppalaki/Köplag 355/1987, Iceland: Lög um lausafjárkaup 50/2000, Norway: Lov om kjøp 1988 no 27, Sweden: Köplag 1990:931.

  4. 4.

    Denmark: Aftaleloven 2016 nr 193, Finland: Laki varallisuusoikeudellisista oikeustoimista/Lag om rättshandlingar på förmögenhetsrättens område 228/1929, Iceland: Lög um samningsgerð, umboð og ógilda löggerninga 7/1936, Norway: Lov om avslutning av avtaler, om fuldmagt og om ugyldige viljeserklæringer 1918 no 4, Sweden: Lag (1915:218) om avtal och andra rättshandlingar på förmögenhetsrättens område.

  5. 5.

    For a detailed account of Nordic cooperation, see Andersen and Runesson (2015), pp. 17–23 and Chap. 1 above.

  6. 6.

    See Andersen and Runesson (2015), pp. 22–23.

  7. 7.

    See Chap. 1 for details.

  8. 8.

    Case C-478/99, Commission v. Sweden [2002] ECR I-4147.

  9. 9.

    Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts.

  10. 10.

    Case C-402/03 [2006] ECR I-199.

  11. 11.

    Para. 42 of the judgment.

  12. 12.

    See Kleineman (2014).

  13. 13.

    Alexy (1985), p. 16. See also Bärlund (2015), pp. 85–90, for a more detailed discussion on the difference between rules and principles. The Restatement of Nordic Contract Law 2016 Chap. 1: ‘General principles’ is based on a broader concept of ‘principle’ than the one applied here.

  14. 14.

    Työsopimuslaki/Arbetsavtalslag 55/2001.

  15. 15.

    Aarnio (2011), pp. 162–163.

  16. 16.

    Somma (2013), p. 110.

  17. 17.

    Nybergh (2004), p. 297.

  18. 18.

    Nybergh (2014).

  19. 19.

    Nielsen (2010), p. 382.

  20. 20.

    See e.g. Giertsen (2014), p. 37 and Andersen (2013), p. 232.

  21. 21.

    Adlercreutz and Gorton (2016), p. 83–85.

  22. 22.

    Häyhä (1996) passim stresses the mass character of contracting, meaning standardization of the activity of contracting.

  23. 23.

    Ugeskrift for Retsvæsen (UfR)1985.877.

  24. 24.

    Forbrugerstyrelsen Juridisk Årbog (1991), p. 13.

  25. 25.

    See Lando et al. (2016), p. 92.

  26. 26.

    Taxell (1997), p. 45.

  27. 27.

    Munukka (2015).

  28. 28.

    Munukka (2007), p. 461.

  29. 29.

    Taxell (1997), p. 66.

  30. 30.

    E.g. Holm (2004) and Munukka (2007).

  31. 31.

    Ramberg and Ramberg (2016), p. 36. Cfr. Lindskog (2015), p. 326 who seems to stress the principle of freedom of contract in commercial relations to the maximum according to the principles of pure competition.

  32. 32.

    Gomard (2016), pp. 64–66 and Andersen (2013), p. 458. Compare with Andersen and Lookofsky (2015), p. 29 and 71. According to Lando et al. (2016), p. 81, the scope of application of the principle of loyalty is not clear.

  33. 33.

    Lando et al. (2016), p. 86.

  34. 34.

    Finnish Supreme Court case 2010:69.

  35. 35.

    Halila and Hemmo (2008), p. 6 and 8.

  36. 36.

    See for instance Danish Supreme Court decision UfR 1988, p 1042 using Sec. 36 of the Contracts Act (see subchapter 4.2 below) to set aside as unreasonably long a contract period in a contract between an oil company and a fuel oil dealer.

  37. 37.

    The possibility to adjust contracts according to the Nordic Contracts Act Sec. 36 is also mentioned in Restatement of Nordic Contract Law 2016, pp. 86–88. The principle of fairness as balance is even elevated to the leading principle of modern contract law theory in one thesis in Finland, see Pöyhönen (1988).

  38. 38.

    Taxell (1997), p. 65 counts the principle of fairness as balance as one of the main general principles of law, besides the principle of loyalty.

  39. 39.

    See Andersen (2013), p. 462–472 and Giertsen (2014), p. 12.

  40. 40.

    Wilhelmsson first introduced the theory of social civil law in the Swedish language in 1987, Wilhelmsson (1987). For a non-Nordic, international audience the theory was presented in English in 1992. However, it is important to notice that Nordic legal scholars have not unanimously accepted the theory of social civil law. Especially in Swedish law, opposition against the theory has been strong, see e.g. Sandgren (1993), pp. 157–196. Also noteworthy is that in Sweden the term social civil law is used to describe fields of law where the social dimension is strong, as in labour law and family law. In Sweden, an institute at the University of Stockholm is called the Institutet för social civilrätt, but in English the term Institute of Social Private Law is used. According to the Institute’s homepage, the focus is nowadays on labour law, see http://www.juridicum.su.se/social_civilratt/index_english.htm.

  41. 41.

    Wilhelmsson (1992), pp. 89–90 and 93–100.

  42. 42.

    Wilhelmsson (1992), p. 88–100.

  43. 43.

    Wilhelmsson (1992), p. 193.

  44. 44.

    Wilhelmsson (1992), pp. 197–203.

  45. 45.

    Bärlund (1990), p. 80.

  46. 46.

    Wilhelmsson (1992), pp. 204–206.

  47. 47.

    Wilhelmsson (1992), pp. 206–216.

  48. 48.

    Laki osamaksukaupasta/Lag om avbetalningsköp 91/1966.

  49. 49.

    Kuluttajansuojalaki/Konsumentskyddslag 38/1978.

  50. 50.

    Korkolaki/Räntelag 633/1982.

  51. 51.

    The Swedish Interest Act, Räntelag 1975:635, contains a similar provision in Sec. 8.

  52. 52.

    Laki sähköisen viestinnän palveluista/Lag om tjänster inom elektronisk kommunikation 917/2014.

  53. 53.

    The Insurance Contracts Act of 1930 was joint Nordic. It is still in force in Denmark, whereas the other Nordic countries have modernized their legislation in the area.

  54. 54.

    I.e. a ‘formal weaker party role’. See above in subchapter 3 about the different kinds of ‘weaker party roles’ according to Thomas Wilhelmsson.

  55. 55.

    I.e. a ‘function related weaker party role’, see preceding footnote.

  56. 56.

    Bernitz (1979), p. 14 and Wilhelmsson (1989), p. 35.

  57. 57.

    Iceland has no Consumer Ombudsman institution, but similar tasks are carried out by the Consumer Agency. In 2005, the Consumer Spokesman was established in order to advocate consumer interests not only in general but also towards the public authorities and the legislator. The Consumer Spokesman has an office in connection with the Consumer Agency.

  58. 58.

    In Finland, nearly all consumer protection provisions are found in a single act, Kuluttajansuojalaki/Konsumentskyddslag 38/1978. The other Nordic countries stick to the tradition of fragmented legislation.

  59. 59.

    Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts.

  60. 60.

    Lov om forbrugeraftaler 2013 no 1457.

  61. 61.

    Directive (2011/83/EU) on consumer rights.

  62. 62.

    Thus, Sec. 36 is an example of a ‘person-related weaker party role’ See above on the different kinds of ‘weaker party roles’ according to Thomas Wilhelmsson.

  63. 63.

    For instance in service contracts that are not within the scope of the mandatory protection acts.

  64. 64.

    This is in contrast to the EU Directive (93/13/EEC) on unfair contract terms.

  65. 65.

    Wilhelmsson (2008), pp. 176–182; Andersen and Madsen (2012), pp. 237–239.

  66. 66.

    UfR 2010, p 1534. The Danish Car Owners Organization acted on behalf of the car owner in the proceedings.

  67. 67.

    UfR 2013, p 1181.

  68. 68.

    Danish Act 1984 no 187 amending the Bankruptcy Act. The rules have been adjusted a couple of times, most significantly by Act 2005 no 365.

  69. 69.

    Finland: Laki yksityishenkilön velkajärjestelystä/Lag om skuldsanering för privatpersoner 57/1993 (as amended most recently by Act 2014/1123), Iceland: Lög um greiðsluaðlögun einstaklinga 101/2010, Norway: Lov om frivillig og tvungen gjeldsordning for privatpersoner 1992 no 99 (amended most recently by Act no 53 of 22 June 2018), Sweden, Skuldsaneringslag 1994:334, replaced most recently by Act 2016:675.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Johan Bärlund

  2. Law Department, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Peter Moegelvang-Hansen

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  1. Johan Bärlund
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Correspondence to Johan Bärlund .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Pia Letto-Vanamo

  2. University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Ditlev Tamm

  3. University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Bent Ole Gram Mortensen

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Bärlund, J., Moegelvang-Hansen, P. (2019). Contracting with a Social Dimension. In: Letto-Vanamo, P., Tamm, D., Gram Mortensen, B.O. (eds) Nordic Law in European Context. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 73. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03006-3_7

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