This book opens a new pathway to private law theory. It pushes private law theory out of its comfort zone and confronts it with law and economics, social and political sciences, comparative law and comparative history, transnational law and critical legal theory.

Stefan Grundmann is Professor at Humboldt-University, Berlin, for Private and Business Law, and at the European University Institute, Florence. He co-founded SECOLA (the Society of European Contract Law) and is president of the European Law School (Berlin/London/Paris/Rome/Amsterdam). His research focus is on contract, banking and company law, on regulation, governance and theory.

New private law theory ¿ the core ideas; Part I . Methods and Disciplines: 1. The inside and the outside of law? ; 2. Private law and sociology; 3. Economics and private law institutions; 4. Private law and theories of communication; 5. Comparative law and legal history; Part II. Social Ordering, Constitutionalism and Private Law: 6. Societal order and private law; 7. Values in private law; 8. Constitutionalisation, regulation and private law; 9. Democracy and private law; 10. Formalism, substantive and procedural justice; Part III. Transactions and Risk ¿ Private Law and the Market: 11. Negotiation, the function of contract and the 'justice of consensus'; 12. Knowledge and information; 13: private power; 14. Non-discrimination; 15. Risk, tort and liability; 16. Digital architecture of private law relations; 17. Between market and hierarchy; Part IV. Persons and Organizations: 18. Person, civil status and private law; 19. Theory of the corporation; 20. Actors in organizations; 21. The principal's decision: exit, voice, and loyalty; 22. Organizations and public goods; Part V. Private Law (rule setting) Beyond the State: 23. Law as a product; 24. Multi-level governance and economic constitution; 25. Transnational law; 26. Private ordering; 27. The shadow of the law and social embeddedness.