Harmonisation of European Law on Personal and Proprietary Security

12.12.2008

In recognition of the 80th birthday of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Ulrich Drobnig, a conference is being held on the topic of European personal and proprietary security at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg on Friday, the 12th of December. The consideration of personal and proprietary security in terms of comparative law, conflicts of law and legal policy is an area of emphasis at the Hamburg Max Planck Institute. Prof. Ulrich Drobnig has been a driving force in this field of research and the Emeritus Director of the Max Planck Institute for Private Law is one of the world's leading experts in credit security. His contributions on international harmonisation have shaped the developments in this field over the last decades and have also provided a significant impulse for the current debates on Europeanisation. The conference speakers will address the harmonisation of personal securities, securities in movable property, securities in immovable property and also the harmonisation of the substantive law and conflicts of law in respect of assignment.

In the course of globalisation and Europeanisation, the harmonisation of law in the area of personal and proprietary security has taken on great significance in regards to safeguarding large-scale financing. Particularly in eastern and southeast European countries - in which the need for credit markets was non-existent during the socialist era - one finds inadequacies requiring remedy. In the EU nations there have been efforts towards the harmonisation of personal and proprietary security which have now been underway since the mid-1960's. Furthermore, The Convention on International Interests in Movable Equipment was recently authored in Cape Town under the aegis of UNIDROIT and has been subsequently supplemented with special protocols on security interests in respect of airplanes and railway rolling stock. On the basis of his comparative law research, Prof. Ulrich Drobnig of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg has authored numerous works on personal and proprietary security. His efforts in the area include an expert opinion on the reform of credit security in Germany and the preparatory formulation of a model regulation on personal and proprietary security for the nations of eastern Europe.

Since 2000 and in the context of the „Study Group for a European Civil Code“, Prof. Ulrich Drobnig has led a working group on personal and proprietary security. Therein, a number of junior researchers from throughout Europe are conducting research under his guidance. A volume titled Principles of European Law on Personal Security resulted from these efforts and was published in 2008. Presently, the group is working on a commentary on the law of security in movable property. The goal of the research group is the formulation of uniform code. The work of the Study Group is being subsidised by the European Union.



The speakers and their topics:

Prof. Matthias Storme: Die Harmonisierung der persönlichen Sicherheiten in Europa (Garantien /Bürgschaften)

Prof. Karl Kreuzer: Die Harmonisierung des Rechts der Mobiliarsicherheiten

Prof. Tatjana Josipović: Die Harmonisierung der Immobiliarsicherheiten: Die Euro-Hypothek

Prof. Franco Ferrari: Die Harmonisierung des Abtretungsrechts

Prof. Eva-Maria Kieninger: Die Harmonisierung des Kollisionsrechts der Abtretung

Prof. Hans-Jürgen Lwowski: Die Harmonisierung der Kreditsicherheiten im Lichte der ökonomischen Funktionen
  • Last update: 14 Sep. 2010
  • Top