The role of the “bottom-up” harmonization method in EU insurance law

The authors of the paper analyze the challenges and prospects of the process of harmonization of law in the European Union – both at a general level and in the field of insurance. Special attention is paid to the methods used to approximate the systems of the member states by official bodies of legislative authorities, as well as informal study groups that gather under the auspices of existing international organizations or within the framework of ad hoc academic projects. Namely, the harmonization of law can be carried out through the traditional so-called “top-down” method implemented by formal bearers of legislative processes or through an alternative, academic so-called “bottom-up” method implemented by academic study groups by issuing non-binding but influential acts. As there is still room for convergence of the systems of the Member States in the area of insurance law in the EU, especially with regard to the contract law part, the authors propose promoting a greater role for the “bottom-up” approach in the spirit of the results achieved, e.g. through the Principles of European Insurance Contract Law and the Principles of Reinsurance Contract Law.