Institutional and normative co-operation in private law : beyond the Hague conference towards standard setting organizations

This chapter argues that the engagement of the EU with international organizations in the field of private law is not confined to the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) only. Below the radar of international conventions, formalized agreements, and institutions with legal authority, there has been institutional and normative co-operation between EU and international standards setting organizations (SSOs), which resulted in the global reach of EU law in the field of private law. The first part describes the EU’s role in the elaboration of international private law evolving from its enlarged competences under the Treaty and its impact on the relationship with the HCCH. The second part advances the thesis that the EU has moved from competence expansion in highly visible international fora to co-operation in standards bodies though European SSOs. The third and the fourth parts explain institutional co-operation between European and international SSOs in the energy and telecommunications markets.