Open research questions in European and International Contract Law

What the literature leaves open

• The limitations of applying traditional private international law principles within the digital environment. The use of choice of forum and choice of law clauses in electronic contracts tends to place consumers in a weaker position. The lack of a comprehensive legal framework to address the challenges of cross-border digital transactions.

  Juridical Analysis of the Determination of Jurisdiction and Its Legal Consequences for Consumer Protection in Cross-Border Digital Transactions Based on Electronic Contracts · 2026 · DOI

• The existing legal frameworks have not fully addressed the complexities of cross-border digital transactions. There is a need for a more comprehensive legal framework to address the challenges of cross-border digital transactions.

  Juridical Analysis of the Determination of Jurisdiction and Its Legal Consequences for Consumer Protection in Cross-Border Digital Transactions Based on Electronic Contracts · 2026 · DOI

• Further research is needed to examine the implications of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023 on data-for-service contracts. The study's recommendations can inform future research on data protection and contract law. There is a need for empirical studies on the impact of data-for-service contracts on consumers and businesses.

  Rethinking Consideration in the Digital Economy: Can User Data Constitute Valid Consideration under Indian Contract Law? · 2026 · DOI

• The Indian Contract Act of 1872 does not explicitly address digital activity and personal data as consideration. There is a need for clearer legal recognition of data-for-service contracts and stronger consumer safeguards in digital agreements. The study highlights the gap between contract law and data privacy standards in the digital economy.

  Rethinking Consideration in the Digital Economy: Can User Data Constitute Valid Consideration under Indian Contract Law? · 2026 · DOI

• As a signatory of the UNO Guidelines numerous developed and developing countries which include many Asian countries have established legal provisions to guide their country towards consumer welfare.

  Ensuring Consumer Rights in Bangladesh: An Analysis of Consumer Movement and Consumer Protection Law · 2026 · DOI

• The predictability of the general duty is a challenge from a criminal law perspective. The terms used to describe the conduct are open and to some extent vague.

  The Application of MiFID II’s General Duty of Loyalty in Iceland · 2026 · DOI

• The current legal framework for protecting tourists' rights in Kazakhstan and China has several gaps and weaknesses. There is a lack of a unified system for administrative review of tourist complaints. There is insufficient coordination between national consumer protection authorities.

  Legal Basis and Prospects of International Cooperation Between Kazakhstan and China in the Field of Protection the Rights of Tourists · 2026 · DOI

• The need for a clear framework for endorsing the existence of the justifiable impediment. The lack of standardisation in the procedure for endorsing the existence of the justifiable impediment.

  The procedure for endorsing the existence of the justifiable impediment - between certification and contractual protection · 2026 · DOI

• The paper identifies a gap in the literature on the role of private law in shaping global production. The paper notes that there is a lack of understanding of the complexities of global value chains and the role of contracts in constructing a legal regime.

  Aspekty prywatnoprawne globalnych łańcuchów wartości – typologia umów w GVCs · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of a clear legal framework for grape price determination. The need for a distinction between the sale of grapes to a third-party winery and cooperative conferment by members to a cooperative winery.

  Grape Price Determination under Italian Law: Value-Formation Methods, Cooperative Conferment and Producer Remedies in the Wine Supply Chain · 2026 · DOI

• The study identifies the challenge of determining the extent to which the concept of objective liability is embodied in both the Jordanian and French legal systems. The research highlights the need to develop judicial jurisprudence to address damages arising from the use of modern technological means.

  Objective Liability in the Jordanian Civil Code and Islamic Jurisprudence: A Comparative Study · 2026 · DOI

• The complexity of the legal frameworks governing receivables as collateral. The need for a specialized enforcement mechanism in Vietnam. The challenge of balancing the rights of account debtors and secured creditors.

  Enforcement of receivables as collateral: lessons from the United States and China and implications for Vietnam · 2026 · DOI

• Future research could explore the implementation of the paper's recommendations in Vietnam. Future research could examine the impact of the refined legal framework on the efficiency of receivables as collateral. Future research could compare the legal frameworks in other countries and identify best practices.

  Enforcement of receivables as collateral: lessons from the United States and China and implications for Vietnam · 2026 · DOI

• The imbalance between rapid population growth and scarce land resources in Indonesia. The rapid growth of the housing sector has created intense competition among developers to attract prospective buyers.

  Legal Protection of The Subdivision of Freehold Title Certificates (Shm) as The Basis For Consumer Rights In Sale and Purchase Binding Agreements (PPJB) For Housing Transactions · 2026 · DOI

• The imbalance between rapid population growth and scarce land resources in Indonesia has raised public concern regarding the fulfillment of this fundamental need.

  Legal Protection of The Subdivision of Freehold Title Certificates (Shm) as The Basis For Consumer Rights In Sale and Purchase Binding Agreements (PPJB) For Housing Transactions · 2026 · DOI

• Prior to the adoption of the Law on Factoring, relationships related to factoring were regulated on the basis of various legislative acts, international commercial practice, and doctrinal approaches. This created legal uncertainty and limited the practical application of factoring.

  The New Legislative Regulation of the Factoring Agreement in Georgia · 2026 · DOI

• There is a need for harmonization of contract law, electronic transaction regulations, and personal data protection law. The study identifies a gap in the literature regarding the development of digital contract law in Indonesia.

  Digital Business Contracts from the Perspective of Indonesian Civil Law · 2026 · DOI

• Future research is recommended to adopt empirical and comparative approaches the effectiveness of digital contract implementation and to explore the implications of emerging technologies such as blockchain and smart contracts within the Indonesian legal system. However, its scope is limited to a normative juridical approach and does not assess the empirical implementation of digital contracts across different industrial sectors.

  Digital Business Contracts from the Perspective of Indonesian Civil Law · 2026 · DOI

• The literature shows that attempts to roll back labor market reforms may not necessarily lead to a reduction in labor market segmentation. There is a need to evaluate the impact of labor market reforms on labor market dynamics. The effectiveness of labor market reforms in reducing job instability and labor market segmentation is unclear.

  Let’s roll back! The challenging task of regulating temporary contracts · 2026 · DOI

• To further study the implementation of the improved fiduciary duty system for actual controllers. To explore the effectiveness of the proposed systematic improvement path. To investigate the impact of the improved fiduciary duty system on the protection of the interests of multiple entities.

  Challenges in Applying the Fiduciary Duties of Actual Controllers and Paths to Improvement Under the New Company Law · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of systematic normative basis for the regulation of actual controllers. The ambiguous identification of subjects and unclear boundaries of obligations. The lack of judgment standards and ineffective accountability mechanisms.

  Challenges in Applying the Fiduciary Duties of Actual Controllers and Paths to Improvement Under the New Company Law · 2026 · DOI

• Current consumer-protection law does not adequately address the temporary retention of consumer funds following cancelled transactions. There is a need for regulatory reforms to address the refund float problem.

  The DoorDash Refund Float Problem How Consumer Platforms Retain and Benefit from Consumer Funds After Order Cancellation · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of clarity around the governing law of MAC disputes, - The insufficient standard carve-outs in Anglo-American templates for Indian transactions

  SIGN TODAY, EXIT TOMORROW: HOW MAC CLAUSES LEAVE INDIAN SELLERS STRANDED · 2026 · DOI

• The development of digital technology has transformed the pattern of legal relationships in modern transactions. The Indonesian Civil Code has not yet explicitly regulated personal data as the subject matter of performance in a contract. The study needs to reconstruct the concept of objects of contracts in Indonesia.

  Personal Data as an Object of Performance in Digital Contracts: Reconstruction of the Concept of Objects of Contracts in Indonesia · 2026 · DOI

• There is a gap between the digital economy reality and positive law focusing strictly on protection. The Indonesian Civil Code has not yet explicitly regulated personal data as the subject matter of performance in a contract.

  Personal Data as an Object of Performance in Digital Contracts: Reconstruction of the Concept of Objects of Contracts in Indonesia · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in European and International Contract Law

• Transaction-Cost Economics: The Governance of Contractual Relations · The Journal of Law and Economics · 1979 · 6,333 citations
• Non-Contractual Relations in Business: A Preliminary Study · American Sociological Review · 1963 · 1,925 citations
• The Informational Role of Warranties and Private Disclosure about Product Quality · The Journal of Law and Economics · 1981 · 1,909 citations
• A Theory of Self-Enforcing Agreements · The Journal of Business · 1980 · 524 citations
• The Structure of a Contract and the Theory of a Non-Exclusive Resource · The Journal of Law and Economics · 1970 · 335 citations
• The Severity of Contract Enforcement in Interfirm Channel Relationships · Journal of Marketing · 2001 · 316 citations
• Information, Contracting, and Quality Costs · Management Science · 2000 · 311 citations
• Filling Gaps in Incomplete Contracts: An Economic Theory of Default Rules · The Yale Law Journal · 1989 · 308 citations
• Regulation and information in a continuing relationship · Information Economics and Policy · 1984 · 298 citations
• Trust and formal contracts in interorganizational relationships — substitutes and complements · Managerial and Decision Economics · 2007 · 250 citations

Most recent work

• Tort law in the age of regulations · University of Toronto Law Journal · 2026
• Comparative analysis of legal regulation of contractual negative obligations in international practice · Прикарпатський юридичний вісник · 2026
• PROTECȚIA CONSUMATORULUI ÎN CONTRACTELE DE CREDIT – FUNDAMENTELE ȘI LIMITELE MODELULUI EUROPEAN DE ARMONIZARE · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026
• Juridical Analysis of the Determination of Jurisdiction and Its Legal Consequences for Consumer Protection in Cross-Border Digital Transactions Based on Electronic Contracts · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026
• Rethinking Consideration in the Digital Economy: Can User Data Constitute Valid Consideration under Indian Contract Law? · International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research · 2026
• Cláusulas IRPH y tutela del consumidor: umbrales de transparencia y estándar de desequilibrio tras las SSTS 1590/2025 y 1591/2025 · Revista crítica de derecho inmobiliario/Revista crítica de derecho inmobiliario · 2026
• Ensuring Consumer Rights in Bangladesh: An Analysis of Consumer Movement and Consumer Protection Law · Journal of Social Science and Multidisciplinary Enquiry · 2026
• The Application of MiFID II’s General Duty of Loyalty in Iceland · Scandinavian studies in law · 2026
• Procedural Fixation Through Rule 401: Judge Robert L. Hinkle and SB 7072 · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026
• Compensation for Consumers for Illegal Acts in E-Commerce Transactions from the Perspective of Legislation · Journal of Social Science (JoSS) · 2026

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