How Brexit Might Pave the Way for a PPP Directive in the EU: From an Innovative Healthcare Perspective

The common law and the civil law tradition define a PPP (public-private partnership) contract differently. The continental EU member states have a legal tradition based on civil law, thus their law derives from a set of written rules or a civil code. Hence, the public law provides the legal framework within which PPP contracts must be negotiated, quite opposite to a private contact which is subject to the legal principle on freedom of contract. In the common law member states such as the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta, the legal tradition is based on case law and precedents, and thus commercial transactions and competition. In these member states, the legal approach to a PPP contract is based upon the same legal tradition as private contracts.
Legal negotiations and the resulting regulations within the EU are a compromise between the different legal systems and Brexit weakens the voice of common law in the EU. Regulating by legal statutes in general goes against the legal tradition in the UK. Brexit might tip the balance between civil law and common law in the EU and thus Brexit might pave the way for a legal framework on PPP in the EU. In addition, Ireland already has a national PPP legislation which is why a compromise between Ireland and the continental member states could be within reach.