Volume: Volume 2(2) - 1998

Article type: Refereed article

Author/s: Putman, Emmanuel

In a comparative note, Emmanuel Putman reflects on the status of freedom of contract in France. He notes that both French and European law give indirect protection to freedom of contract through other fundamental rights or general principles, such as freedom of enterprise.

More problematically, however, contractual clauses may serve to limit fundamental rights. The author also notes the tension between freedom of contract in the shape of restraint of trade clauses and freedom of competition, and asks 'whether the paradise of freedom of contract is worth regaining at the cost of diminished commercial fairness'.

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