CLASSIFICATION OF CONTRACTS RATIONE PERSONAE AND LEGAL CERTAINTY

The paper analyzes certain categories of contracts based on the ratione personaecriteria - (1) commercial contracts, (2) contracts between merchants, (3) contracts between merchants and public authorities, (4) so-called commercial transactions between undertakings, (5) commercial transactions between undertakings and public authorities and (6) consumer contracts, as well as their constitutive elements and the extent of alternations of the rules that determine them in relation to the general legal regulation of contracts, the civil law contracts. Special focus is given to certain anomalies and overlaps regarding particular contractual categories. Furthermore, certain legal subjects are discussed with an effort to specify their status in a specific contractual framework. Finally, the reference to certain issues in connection with the classification of contracts is given, as well as their potential effects regarding legal certainty. In conclusion, it is suggested in which direction could legislative interventions move regarding the legal arrangement of certain de lege ferendacontractual categories in order to remove a number of current doubts and ambiguities and to improve legal certainty in contractual relationships