? The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG This splendid book performs the heroic task of introducing readers to the large canvas of the commercial law of the European Union (EU). The EU began as an economic community of six nations but has grown into 27 member states, sharing a signi?cant political, social and legal cohesion and serving almost 500 million citizens. It generates approximately 30% of the nominal gross world product. The EU is a remarkable achievement of trans-national co-operation, given the history (including recent history) of national, racial, ethnic and religious hatred and con?ict preceding its creation. Although, as the book recounts, the institutions of the EU grew directly out of those of the European Economic Community, created in 1957 [1.20], the genesis of the EU can be traced to the sufferings of the Second World War and to the disclosure of the barbarous atrocities of the Holocaust. Out of the chaos and ruins of historical enmities and the shattered cities and peoples that survived those terrible events, arose an astonishing pan- European Movement.
The volume of European Union legal acts relating to commercial law is staggering. This book provides a clear and concise overview of the vast bulk of European Union business law, giving extensive coverage to both legislation and the decisions of the Court of Justice. The text is fully up to date in the light of the Treaty of Lisbon. The book approaches European Union business law from the perspective of non-Member common law nations such as the United States, Australia and Canada. An Appendix contains model problem questions. Each chapter contains extensive references to other books, articles and websites for further reading.
"By collecting the material; organising it so skilfully; presenting it so clearly; and summarising it so succinctly, the authors have also worked a kind of miracle. Their efforts will be appreciated by legal practitioners, judges, scholars and teachers within and outside the EU because they have made the essence of EU commercial law available in a single book."
The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG,
former Justice of the High Court of Australia (1996-2009)
