Distributorship in the light of the Draft Common Frame of Reference

The articles presents synthetic overview of the distribution agreement in the DCFR which is one of the most common commercial agreements. The Study Group (Study Group on a European Civil Code) and the Acquis Group (Research Group on EC Private Law) made an attempt to propose detailed regulation of distribution contract that resulted in the formation of Draft Common Frame of Reference, which in Part E of Book IV provides for comprehensive regulation of agency, franchise and distribution agreements. In designing the distribution agreement, the authors of the DCFR referred to a large extent on the previously established rules of law, in particular the model developed by the Group of the Amsterdam Principles of European Law on commercial agency agreements, franchise and distribution (PECL CAFDC), Principles of International Commercial Contracts UNIDROIT (UNIDROIT PICC), as well as templates of distribution contracts prepared by the International Chamber of Commerce (International Chamber of Commerce - ICC). The author discusses the assumptions and main ideas behind the DCFR's regulation of the distribution agreement by examining its definition, types, responsibilities of the parties, and analyses the rule of reason emphasised by the authors of the DCFR by investigating its legal nature. The article underlines the importance of the DCFR in the process of harmonization of European private law and its leading role in the comprehensive regulation of model distribution agreements. In addition, the author emphasizes the desirability of adoption of a single, monogamous structure of the distribution agreement via a normative regulation in the Polish legal system.