Abstract

In Europe, until now the private law paradigm has been that individuals themselves have to enforce their own rights to performance in contract, compliance with private law rules, and to sue for damages in case of tortious liability. This seems to be corollary to fundamental notions of autonomy and self determination. However, the growing competition between private law and public law instruments of enforcement shows that private law scholars need to address the key issue of effectiveness: Are the classical enforcement instruments that private law provides really suitable for 21st century society? In this paper it is argued that some classical dogmas need recalibration.