Regulation of intermediation contracts in DC FR (as a pattern for the Polish legislator?)

Bibliogr. s. 78-80

The article addresses the problem of regulation of commercial intermediation contracts in Polish private law. The main emphasis has been put on commercial agency, franchising and distribution contracts, along with accompanying phenomena (e.g. tendency of some of the intermediation contracts to form contractual networks). The research involved, amongst other issues, analysis of the provisions of Draft Common Frame of Reference on these three contracts. They deserve particular attention for two predominant reasons. First of all, they have been based on a thorough comparative study and attempt to identify the optimal and most universal regulatory approach. Secondly, they are also highly novel, both in terms of structure, as well as detailed concepts. As a result, DC FR provides an important point of reference for regulatory discussion over intermediation contracts (moreover, it has been already a source of inspiration for legislative reforms in some EU Member States). The paper focuses predominantly on the structure of legal provisions: array of agreements covered, existence of separate set of common provisions, ways of extending the rules upon innominate intermediation contracts arising in market practice etc. In the outcome, the text proposes an array of alternative regulatory approaches that may provide answer to these questions (from separate regulation of each contract, to creation of a set of general provisions, supplemented by detailed sector-specific rules). The text is accompanied by Polish translation of the relevant provisions of the Draft Common of Reference.