The Hidden Potential of Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) in the Private Law Acquis

This article argues that regulatory impact assessments (RIAs) are an important method to improve the private law acquis that are currently overlooked. Many problems of unpredictability and inconsistency can be traced to poor regulatory choices in the private law acquis, including the overenthusiastic use of blanket clauses and the lack of coordination in the development of the acquis. RIAs are a very suitable means to prompt the legislator to reconsider these choices. The use of RIAs however currently shows severe shortcomings. Particularly, RIAs frequently contain doubtful and unsubstantiated assumptions, and they do not neutrally assess the benefits and detriments of all possible ways to develop the acquis. These shortcomings should be addressed if RIAs are to contribute to the quality of the private law acquis. A more thorough evaluation of past and future measures such as minimum and maximum harmonization, guidance, databases, and self-regulation and more coordination would contribute to the predictability and consistency of the private law acquis.