Private governance can be defined as the phenomenon of private actors pursuing public goals and interests in the exercising of traditional state functions in the forms of rulemaking, implementation and dispute resolution. Private governance in these three ‘columns’ can have different sources and can be either ‘state driven’ or ‘market driven’. Whereas implications of private governance have to some extent been explored in public law, this article analyses the legal implications in private law and suggests a specific systematic approach. [---]