Contracts Contrary to Public Policy under English and Dutch Law:The Case of Agreement Commercializing the Human Body

Both English and Dutch law contain general rules that result in the invalidity of contracts which conflict with morality and/or public policy. Working on the premise that each country has its own unique set of factors shaping public interests, this article highlights methodological aspects of identifying the extent to which convergence and divergence exists in the English and Dutch approaches towards the invalidity of contracts on grounds of public policy and good morals. Contracts that tend to commercialise the human body in a manner that raises questions of compatibility with public policy and/or good morals are used as an example in this paper. These contracts are analysed using an ‘interest-based comparative methodology’. Subsequently, the results are comparatively examined. The outcome reveals that while English and Dutch law diverge significantly as far as contracts commercialising the human body are concerned, the underlying interests behind these laws appear to be quite similar