In the last 20 years, interest in network phenomena has grown immensely among anthropologists, psychologists, political scientists, economists, and lawyers. Empirical observation shows that network arrangements can be found in many branches of business. This is often linked to rapid changes in today's markets and technologies, but it is not the only reason. Legal institutions have been at the center of private law since the industrial revolution, but today contracts and corporations cannot cope with the risks and opportunities posed by networks. Legal practices need solutions which go beyond the classical traditions of thinking in the dichotomy of contract and corporation. This volume is the outcome of a conference held in Fribourg, Switzerland, which focused on the legal treatment of contractual networks, in particular, questions of network expectations, the fragility of network institutions, and the question of how law can minimize network specific risks towards third parties. Contributions are by many of the world's leading scholars in this field, including Roger Brownsword, Simon Deakin, Gunther Teubner, Hugh Collins, and Graf-Peter Calliess.
Author(s): Marc Amstutz, Gunther Teubner
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 353
Prelims......Page 2
Preface......Page 8
Contents......Page 20
Part I. The Emergence of Networks in the Law......Page 22
1 Coincidentia Oppositorum: Hybrid Networks Beyond Contract and Organisation......Page 24
2 Network Contracts Revisited......Page 52
3 The Return of the Guild? Network Relations in Historical Perspective......Page 74
4 Post-Hegelian Networks......Page 96
5 The Path to the Law—The Difficult Legal Access of Networks......Page 108
Part II. Internal Network Relations: Generalised Reciprocity......Page 122
6 The Status of Multilateral Synallagmas in the Law of Connected Contracts......Page 124
7 Third Party Effects of Bilateral Contracts within the Network......Page 140
8 Internal Relations and Semi-spontaneous Order: The Case of Franchising and Construction Contracts......Page 158
9 Asset-sharing in Franchise Networks: The Obligation to pass on Network Benefits......Page 174
Part III. External Network Relations: State Regulation and Self-Regulation......Page 206
10 The Weakest Link: Legal Implications of the Network Architecture of Supply Chains......Page 208
11 The Weakest Link: Legal Aspects of Network Architecture of Supply Chains......Page 232
12 The Protection of Contractual Networks Against Interference by Third Parties......Page 246
13 Fitness Clubs: Consumer Protection between Contract and Association......Page 262
14 Regulation of Hybrid Networks at the Intersection between Governmental Administration and Economic Self-Organisation......Page 276
15 Mixed Public-Private Networks as Vehicles for Regulatory Policy......Page 312
16 The Constitution of Contractual Networks......Page 330
Index......Page 368
