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The Principles of European Insurance Contract Law, also referred tousing the acronym PEICL, were published in September 2009. They are the result of ten years of academic work undertaken by the"Restatement of European Insurance Contract Law" Project Group. In the time since its establishment in 1999, the project has been transformed from being a stand-alone project to a part of the CoPECL (Common Principles of European Insurance Contract Law) network, drafting a specific part of the Common Frame of Reference. Having continually worked under the guiding principle that "the law of insurance [in Europe] must be one," it now represents a serious option for providing Europe with a single legal framework for insurance contracts.Despite the European Council's proclamations that the Common Frame of Reference will remain a non-binding instrument, the implementation of one or more optional instruments in the future does not appear to beimprobable considering recent developments. The possibility of anoptional instrument has been expressed more than once by the European Commission in its Action Plan and Communication on European Contract Law. Other indications in favour of an optional instrument include the European Parliament's repeated references to the Common Frame of Reference as providing, at the very least, a model for a futureoptional instrument, as well as the EESC's earlier proposal of anoptional instrument as an alternative to standardising insurancecontract law. The preparation by the EESC of another (own-initiative) opinion on European contract law is underway, and its presentation is anticipated in 2010. Hence, the optional instrument is evidently the subject of serious political deliberation. Using Article 1:102, the Principles of European Insurance Contract Law represent a prototype for such an instrument.

Abstract: The adoption of an optional instrument on European contract law is gaining support. The present article argues that the appropriate legal basis depends on the ultimate characteristics of the instrument. However, Article 114 TFEU would, in any case, not provide an appropriate legal basis since the optional instrument would merely create an alternative to the laws of the Member States, without bringing the contract laws of the Member States closer together. Article 81 TFEU would provide a legal basis if the optional instrument would be limited to cross-border contracts and could be linked to the general objective of enhancing the judicial cooperation in civil proceedings. If the optional instrument could be chosen as governing law to both domestic and cross-border contracts, Article 352 would be the appropriate legal basis. Résumé: Il y a un soutien croissant en faveur de l'adoption d'un instrument optionnel relatif au droit Européen des contrats. Le présent article cherche à demontrer que la base juridique appropriée dépend des caractéristiques de l'instrument final. Cependant, en tout cas, l'article 114 TFUE ne peut pas constituer une base juridique appropriée étant donné que l'instrument optionnel ne ferait que créer une alternative à la législation des États membres, sans générer une convergence entre les droits des contrats des États membres. L'article 81 TFUE fournit une base juridique si l'instrument optionnel serait limitée aux contrats transfrontières et pourrait être liée à l'objective de renforcer la coopération judicaire en matière civil. Si l'instrument optionnel pourrait être choisi comme droit applicable aux contrats internes et transfrontières, art. 352 serait la base juridique appropriée. Zusammenfassung: Die Einführung eines optionalen Instrumentes im Europäischen Vertragsrecht gewinnt immer mehr Unterstützung. Der vorliegende Artikel führt aus, dass die einschlägige rechtliche Grundlage hierfür von den schlussendlichen Charakteristika des Instruments abhängt. Artikel 114 AEUV stellt allerdings in keinem Fall eine mögliche rechtliche Grundlage dar, würde das optionale Instrument doch lediglich eine Alternative zum Recht der Mitgliedstaaten kreieren, ohne deren Vertragsrecht näher aneinander heran zu führen. Art. 81 AEUV würde hingegen eine rechtliche Grundlage bieten, wäre das optionale Instrument auf grenzüberschreitende Verträge begrenzt und könnte es mit dem allgemeinen Ziel der Verbesserung der justiziellen Zusammenarbeit in Zivilsachen in Verbindung gebracht werden. Sollte das optionale Instrument als maßgebliches Recht sowohl für innerstaatliche als auch grenzüberschreitende Verträge gewählt werden können, wäre Art. 352 AEUV die einschlägige Rechtsgrundlage.