Social Justice and the Market in European Contract Law

European contract law must be developed along lines which are different from those proposed by free market enthusiasts. To this end, it must be based upon the principles enshrined in national constitutions and developed by national courts, in accordance with verious technical expedients, but which are all the natural consequence of one political design: to have courts acting as a counterweight in situations where contracting parties are structurally weak. The contract law model contsined in the european constitution is quite different from this