The ‘Stickiness’ of the Unidroit Principles of International Commercial Contracts: A Behavioral Analysis

According to the prospect theory, people need a reference point to make a decision. In this regard, the status quo is seen as a reference point. For contract negotiations, default rules are deemed as status quo and, therefore, create a reference point for the parties. People tend to stick with default rules despite their non-mandatory nature. This essay aims to examine whether the Unidroit Principles (2016), a soft law, have similar ‘stickiness’ according to behavioral analysis. First, the stickiness for negotiating parties will be determined by the usage of the Principles as a guide for contract drafting. Second, the stickiness for legislators will be analyzed, both in terms of national and international legislators. Once the current level of stickiness is detected, then the question arises regarding which policies are best to achieve a higher level of stickiness both for parties and legislators.