Rethinking Eu Consumer Law

In Rethinking EU Consumer Law, the authors analyse the development of EU consumer law on the basis of a number of clear themes, which are then traced through specific areas. Recurring themes include the artificiality of the EU’s consumer image, the problems created by the drive towards maximum harmonisation, and the unexpected effects EU Consumer Law has had on national law. The book argues that EU Consumer Law has the potential of enhancing the protecting of consumers throughout the EU and could offer a model for consumer law elsewhere in the world, but in order to unlock this potential, there needs to be a rethink with regard to the EU’s approach to consumer law and policy.

This guide invites the reader to think about consumption as one factor in the difficult task of building cohesive, sustainable societies based on the principle or universal well-being. The Council or Europe hopes that this reassessment will prompt people to question their choices as consumers: taking account of human rights, decent working conditions, the sustainable use of resources and our legacy to future generations. Surely consumption should be a responsible, socially committed act. An eclectic mix or academic articles, examples and illustrations makes this guide an unusual, informative work which can be readily used as the basis for discussions on this pressing social issue. This book, inspired by a contribution from the European Inter-Network of Ethical and Solidarity-Based Initiatives (IRIS), is intended as a "prototype": readers are free to adapt its contents to their own circumstances, to add relevant examples and to bring the ideas presented to life

How can policy keep up with the developments in a converging information society? How can all interests be taken into account when the value chains are being transformed? Addressing these questions, this title states that it is necessary to fundamentally reconsider the legal and policy frameworks

This book is the first to provide a critical investigation of EU better regulation from the perspective of EU contract law. The Commission's 'New Deal for EU Consumers' is one of the first EU contract law initiatives to implement both the newly revised Better Regulation Guidelines and the newly introduced combined evaluation of multiple Directives in the form of a 'fitness check'. This offers an opportunity to explore difficulties and best practices at a national level, as demonstrated by experience with the EU's Unfair Terms Directive. Both the fitness check and the impact assessment accompanying the New Deal should facilitate critical reflection on the design of EU contract law. This book addresses key questions. Do impact assessments favour business interests at the expense of a high level of consumer protection? Is the evaluation of EU contract law and the analysis in impact assessments in line with scientific standards? Has the fitness check revealed difficulties and success stories with EU measures at national level, and thereby facilitated an in-depth scrutiny of the design of EU contract law? Ultimately, is the potential of better regulation being realised?

Consumer law and policy continues to be of great concern to both national and international regulatory bodies, and the second edition of the Handbook of Research on International Consumer Law provides an updated international and comparative analysis of the central legal and policy issues, in both developed and developing economies.

This edited volume covers the challenges currently faced by consumer law in Europe and the United States, ranging from fundamental theoretical questions, such as what goals consumer law should pursue, to practical questions raised by disclosure requirements, the General Data Protection Regulation and technology advancements. With governments around the world enacting powerful new regulations concerning consumers, consumer law has become an important topic in the economic analysis of law. Intended to protect consumers, these regulations typically seek to do so by giving them tools to make better decisions, or by limiting the consequences of their bad decisions. Legal scholars are divided, however, regarding the efficacy and effects of these regulations; some call for certain policies to be abolished, while others support a regulatory expansion.

In light of the EU's commitment to making the Single Market fit for the digital age, leading scholars analyse new and urgent issues in the field of contract, data protection, copyright and private international law.

It has long been thought that fairness in European Consumer Law would be achieved by relying on information as a remedy and expecting the average consumer to keep businesses in check by voting with their feet. This monograph argues that the way consumer law operates today promises a lot but does not deliver enough. It struggles to avoid harm being caused to consumers and it struggles to repair the harm after the event. To achieve fairness, solutions need to be found elsewhere. Consumer Theories of Harm offers an alternative model to assess where and how consumer detriment may occur and solutions to prevent it. It shows that a more confident use of economic theory will allow practitioners to demonstrate how a poor standard of professional diligence lies at the heart of consumer harm. The book provides both theoretical and practical examples of how to combine existing law with economic theory to improve case outcomes. The book shows how public enforcers can move beyond the dominant transparency paradigm to an approach where firms have a positive duty to treat consumers fairly and shape their commercial offers in a way that prevents consumers from making mistakes. Over time, this 'fairness-by-design' approach will emerge as the only acceptable way to compete.