The gradual emergence of a European private law constitutes one of the most significant developments in the modern legal landscape. Nevertheless, legal consciousness, judicial decisions, scholarly literature and legal education still very largely reflect the respective national legal systems. Inspired by the objective of a European private law as well as a European scholarship of private law, the "Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht" (ZEuP) was founded in 1993 by Jürgen Basedow (Hamburg), Uwe Blaurock (Freiburg i. Br.), Axel Flessner (Berlin), Reiner Schulze (Münster) and Reinhard Zimmermann (Hamburg). In the editorial of the first issue the editors outlined their vision:

“It shall be the task of this journal, across all national and linguistic borders, to strengthen an awareness of the commonalities of private law in Europe and to establish general private law as an essential element in the re-emerging European legal system. The sources of this new European private law consist in the common foundations of the prevailing national laws – as elaborated by legal history and comparative scholarship –, the uniform private law set out in international conventions and the existing European private law (acquis communautaire). For legal scholars and practitioners dealing with this material, the new journal will offer a forum for discussion and information” (translated from the original German).

The journal places its emphasis on the core areas of private law. From that perspective, it also strives to contribute to a better appreciation of the international uniform law. The geographical scope of coverage is not limited to the confines of the European Community. It includes all European legal systems and is mindful of their influence beyond Europe’s borders. As the ZEuP is published in Germany, its contents primarily appear in German. However, it is also intended for readers in non-German speaking countries and thus also contains articles in English and French.

As the Europeanisation of private law scholarship is also a concern of legal education, the ZEuP aims to reach law students at the various stages of their legal education, in addition to scholars, judges and practitioners. Thus, for instance, a ZEuP prize is awarded annually to a student who has written an essay in legal history or comparative law that is methodologically and thematically inspired by the Europeanisation of private law.

The ZEuP is released quarterly by the C.H. Beck (Munich) publishing house. In 2003, Gerhard Wagner (Bonn) joined the five founding editors of the journal. Furthermore, through a network of corresponding editors and a board of trustees the journal is linked with the broader domestic and international legal community. The role of executive editor rotates among the editors on a two-year basis: Gerhard Wagner is presently serving in this capacity.

 

 

For further information see: www.zeup.beck.de