Private Law and Attribution

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr. Michael Denga
• Subject Area: Private Law
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 509074272

The thesis "Private Law and Attribution" aims fio describe the Instrument of attribution, which is central to private iaw, in its European-determined change of meaning and current content. This is necessary in order to guarantee a high degree of legal certainty in private law, but also to provide the legislator with a precise control element.First of all, it must be assumed that the category and concept of attribution in private law has traditionally been rather weakly penetrated, namely only in individual areas in each case in isolation (and then quite intensively there), not in an overall perspective, and namely also not on both sides of fhe coin equally and in connection with each other: attribution can lead equally to burdens, such as liability, as well as to advantages, such as attribution in the case of acquisition.This first goal of an overarching concept formation is connected with two others. It can be assumed that this classical private-!aw category, perhaps even primarily understood as private-law, has indeed undergone a change of value that has not yet been sufficiently illuminated: Since central examples of application, perhaps the most controversial areas of application at all, such as antitrust and corporate group law, are today regulated by European law, it is obvious that structures and valuations of European law must have a formative effect in the conception of the figure of thought today - apart from the fact that sociological valuations must also be included, although the work sees itself primarily as private law dogmatic. The Ievel of valuation for attribution in private law has changed radically in recent years ("European muiti-level system"). However, also on the level of phenomena, the work is confronted with upheavals and new phenomena which, in terms of their characteristics, indeed fundamentally go beyond the classical examples and areas of application. Most important in this respect are digital platforms with their (potential) accountability for user behavior and the (potential) accountability of companies for actions of global production chains, but also for an increasing depth of employee layers (for example, in the diesel scandal) - what can be described as diffusion outward and inward (external and internal diffusion).The thesis thus aims to accomplish at least three things: to conceptually structure the category of responsibility, with its effect of obligation and entitlement, across the individual areas in an overarching manner (primarily in terms of private law dogma); to bring a changed value environment to bear in the process, especially one from European law; and finally to apply the concepts to central innovations, most centrally those in the digitization process and in the process of the transformation (and increasing permeability) of the company and corporate law.

• DFG Programme: Publication Grants