Institutional and normative cooperation in private law

This chapter argues that EU engagement with international organizations in the field of private law is not confined to the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) only. Below the radar of international conventions, formalized agreements and institutions with legal authority, there has been institutional and normative cooperation between EU and international standardsetting organizations (SSOs), which has resulted in the global reach of EU law in the field of private law. The first part of the chapter describes the EU’s role in the elaboration of international private law evolving from its enlarged competences under the Treaty and its impact on the relationship with the HCCH. The second part advances the thesis that the EU has moved from competence expansion in highly visible international fora to cooperation in standards bodies though European SSOs. The third and fourth parts explain institutional cooperation between European and international SSOs in the energy and telecommunications markets.