Do not rush the river: a Common Frame of Reference, the Restatements of the Law, and the Court of Justice of the European Union

Whether and in what way European private law would benefit from the erection of a Common Frame of Reference has been an intensely debated topic. While much substantive analysis has been performed, too few comparative doctrinal arguments concerning the method and merit of harmonisation have thus far informed the debate. After a cursory examination of the status quo, the paper turns to the USA in order to glean learning experiences from the American private law story, with particular emphasis on the Restatements of the Law. The analysis reveals that European private law is still in a phase of organic development, and needs to remain therein a while longer; it argues that any thoughts of adopting the current Draft Common Frame of Reference would be premature; and it offers avenues of reform centred, among other things, around an increased assumption of responsibility on the part of the Court of Justice of the European Union.