10 Meaning of ‘principles’

The European Commission's communications concerning the CFR do not elaborate on the concept of ‘principles’. The word is susceptible to different interpretations. It is sometimes used, in the present context, as a synonym for rules which do not have the force of law. This is how it appears to be used, for example, in the ‘Principles’ of European Contract Law (PECL), which referred to themselves in article 1:101(1) as ‘Principles … intended to be applied as general rules of contract law in the European Union’ (italics added). The word appears to be used in a similar sense in the Unidroit Principles of International Commercial Contracts.6. In this sense the DCFR can be said to consist of principles and definitions. It is essentially of the same nature as those other instruments in relation to which the word ‘principles’ has become familiar. Alternatively, the word ‘principles’ might be reserved for those rules which are of a more general nature, such as those on freedom of contract or good faith. In this sense the DCFR's model rules could be said to include principles. However, in the following paragraphs we explore a third meaning.