to each legal question. Other characteristics of a classical code include its systemat character and its use of abstract rules and concepts. The new Dutch civil code of 1992 has the characteristics of a classical civil code The Private/Public divide The assumption that a civil code deals with all matters of private law and is pplicable to all conflicts between private parties is based on anotherassumption,ie that it is possible(and indeed useful)to distinguish between private hw and public law. Private aw is usually defined as the aw which govems relationships between citizens as opposed to public law, which is the law which deals with the relationships between citizens and the state or among state institutions. However, this clear-cut distinction does give rise to some doubt. Not only as a result of the development of dm inistrative law and, especally, of functional fields of the law which do not seem to fit in very well with this distinction; there is also a more fundamental critique First, in many countries the cases where the state acts asa private problematic. Classical examples include the case where a municipality buys new office equipment. In many countries private law(the civil code)applies directly or by way of analogy to such cases. However, if a European Civil Code were to be enacted should that code then also apply to(some)national (and European) public authorities? Moreover, in some countries national administrative law and private law are increasingly intertwined. For example, the recent Dutch Algemene Wet Bestuursrecht(1994), which codifies the general part of administrative law contains many structural and conceptual aspects which resemble the general part of private law(patrimonial law) conta ined in Books 3, 5, and 6 of the civil code which were enacted in 1992. With the enactment of a European Civil Code this strong link between national private law and national administrative law would be broken Unless, of course, national adm inistrative law was to beadapted to the new European Civil Code. This would mean, however, thatadministrative law in Europe would also indirectly undergo further harmonisation Even more problematic in this respect are the so-called functional fields of the law. In many European countries private law is rapidly disintegrating into functional fields of law. Usually, these functional fields are the most dynam ic branches of the law labour law. medical law. env ironmental law information law. construction aw to name but a few. Their main characteristic, apart from their functional, pragmatic and non-dogmatic approach, is that they usually contain a mix between private and public lawaspects Some nostalgic civil law scholars will say that all these fields are in essence private law. However, they essentially miss the point. First, because these fields are mixes of private and public law(the relative quantity depending on the politico-economic climate of the day: reguation/deregulation). Secondly, because the approach to the aw in those functional fields is much more pragmatic and less dogmatic. They have, as it were, abandoned the general part of private aw. It would be anachronistic to dissect these fields into a private part, to be regulated on See generally on the Europeanisation of administrative law JH JANS, R. DE LANGE, S RECHAL,RJ.G M. WIDDERSHOVEN, Inleiding tot het Europees besmirsrecht, NimegenHESSELINK 2 to each legal question. Other characteristics of a classical code include its systematic character and its use of abstract rules and concepts. The new Dutch civil code of 1992 has the characteristics of a classical civil code. 3 The Private/Public Divide The assumption that a civil code deals with all matters of private law and is applicable to all conflicts between private parties is based on another assumption, i.e. that it is possible (and indeed useful) to distinguish between private law and public law. Private law is usually defined as the law which governs relationships between citizens as opposed to public law, which is the law which deals with the relationships between citizens and the state, or among state institutions. However, this clear-cut distinction does give rise to some doubt. Not only as a result of the development of administrative law and, especially, of functional fields of the law which do not seem to fit in very well with this distinction; there is also a more fundamental critique. First, in many countries the cases where the state acts as a private person are problematic. Classical examples include the case where a municipality buys new office equipment. In many countries private law (the civil code) applies directly or by way of analogy to such cases. However, if a European Civil Code were to be enacted, should that code then also apply to (some) national (and European) public authorities? Moreover, in some countries national administrative law and private law are increasingly intertwined. For example, the recent Dutch Algemene Wet Bestuursrecht (1994), which codifies the general part of administrative law, contains many structural and conceptual aspects which resemble the general part of private law (patrimonial law) contained in Books 3, 5, and 6 of the civil code which were enacted in 1992. With the enactment of a European Civil Code this strong link between national private law and national administrative law would be broken. Unless, of course, national administrative law was to be adapted to the new European Civil Code. This would mean, however, that administrative law in Europe would also indirectly undergo further harmonisa tion5 . Even more problematic in this respect are the so-called functional fields of the law. In many European countries private law is rapidly disintegrating into functional fields of law. Usually, these functional fields are the most dynamic branches of the law: labour law, medical law, environmental law, information law, construction law, to name but a few. Their main characteristic, apart from their functional, pragmatic and non-dogmatic approach, is that they usually contain a mix between private and public law aspects. Some nostalgic civil law scholars will say that all these fields are in essence private law. However, they essentially miss the point. First, because these fields are mixes of private and public law (the relative quantity depending on the politico-economic climate of the day: regulation/deregulation). Secondly, because the approach to the law in those functional fields is much more pragmatic and less dogmatic. They have, as it were, abandoned the general part of private law. It would be anachronistic to dissect these fields into a private part, to be regulated on 5. See generally on the Europeanisation of administrative law J.H. JANS, R. DE LANGE, S. PRECHAL,R.J.G.M.WIDDERSHOVEN, Inleiding tot het Europees bestuursrecht, Nijmegen 1999