An introduction to proactive law and proactive contracting: the contents of these concepts, how they have developed, how they complement or diverge from the traditional approaches to law and contracting, and how they function especially in international trade. The focus is on self- and co-regulation (rather than command and control regulation) and how they can be applied to contracting and risk management throughout the contract life-cycle. The focus is on contracting competences and enabling methods, tools and good practices.