M.B.M. Loos

Review of the European Consumer Acquis

European consumer law is one of the parts of European law where the citizens of the European Union may experience the positive consequences of the European integration themselves. This is in part the reason why consumer law is in the renewed attention of the European Commission. Within the framework of the development of the Common Frame of Reference the emphasis is now on the improvement of (in particular) the consumer acquis, more precisely on the review of 8 directives that relate to the sale of goods and services. In this contribution these developments are looked into. The paper starts with comments on the Common Frame of Reference and the Green paper Review of the consumer acquis. The reactions to the Green paper are discussed in three parts, viz. the general parts of these reactions, and the specific reactions to consumer sales and unfair contract terms. Furthermore, reactions to the separate consultation on distance selling, and the intended review of the price indication directive and the doorstep selling directive are addressed. Further comments are made on the already submitted proposal on a new timeshare directive and on the only directive pertaining to services currently under revision, the package travel directive. Where relevant the provisional text of the academic draft for a Common Frame of Reference (hereafter also: draft-CFR) and the Principles of European Law on Sales (PELS) are discussed.

Full Harmonisation as a Regulatory Concept and its Consequences for the National Legal Orders: The Example of the Consumer Rights Directive

On 8 October 2008 the European Commission submitted the proposal for a new Consumer rights directive to the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. This paper discusses the type of harmonisation that is foreseen in the proposed directive. It first addresses the choice between minimum and full harmonisation and the question whether there is actually support for the shift from minimum harmonisation to full harmonisation. Subsequently, an attempt is made to rebut the Commission’s argument in favour of full harmonisation. The remainder of the paper is dedicated to the consequences of full harmonisation for general contract law, the level of consumer protection offered under the proposed directive, and the possibility to shift to targeted full harmonisation of some areas, and minimum harmonisation for other.

Study on consumers’ attitudes towards Terms and Conditions (T&Cs): final report

Previous research has shown that when buying products and services online, the vast majority of consumers accept Terms and Conditions (TC for foreign online stores, a quality cue by a European consumer organisation is trusted most. The patterns were similar across Member States.

Art. 70–71: Incorporation and Making Available of Standard Contract Terms

Incorporation of standard terms is a much-debated issue in almost all legal systems. Any legal instrument on contract law therefore must provide an answer as to when terms are incorporated – but answers may vary considerably from one legal system to the next. In this chapter the provisions of the – now withdrawn – proposal for a Common European Sales Law pertaining to the incorporation of standard terms will be compared to the incorporation rules in German and Dutch law. The term ‘incorporation rules’ will be used in a rather broad sense and include rules pertaining to the acceptance of standard terms imposed on the other party, to rules pertaining to surprising and unclear terms, and to rules requiring the party imposing the terms to give the other party a reasonable opportunity to become aware of their content. The focus will therefore be on Article 70 of the CESL and its functional equivalents in German and Dutch law. It is hoped that the European legislator may benefit from this analysis when developing rules on incorporation of standard terms for upcoming legal instruments, such as an instrument for the Digital Single Market.

The presumption of non-conformity in European consumer sales law : bespreking van het proefschrift van K. Sikorska LLM [Bespreking van: K. Sikorska (2015) The presumption of non-conformity in European consumer sales law]

De richtlijn consumentenkoop heeft het wettelijk vermoeden ingevoerd dat een gebrek aan conformiteit dat binnen zes maanden na aflevering wordt ontdekt, al op het moment van de aflevering bestond. In dit boek wordt onderzocht of dit vermoeden op juiste wijze is geimplementeerd in Polen, Duitsland, het Verenigd Koninkrijk en Nederland.

Cost and Fee Allocation in the Netherlands

With regard to cost and fee allocation in the Netherlands, the starting point is that the loser pays all costs (Art. 237 para. 1, first sentence, Code of Civil Procedure.), a principle considered to be justified on grounds of procedural risk and policy (H.J. Snijders, M. Ynzonides, and G.J. Meijer, Nederlands burgerlijk procesrecht, 3rd. edition, no. 117 (Deventer: Kluwer, 2002).). This principle also applies in cases where the losing party was not assisted by an attorney or when he or she was provided with legal aid on behalf of the state. However, in normal cases, the fees of the other party’s attorney(s) will be compensated only in accordance with the so-called liquidated tariff (C. Ingelse, L.J.H. Molenberg, Het tarief voor te liquideren kosten: richtlijn of standaard, Advocatenblad 1998, pp. 1141–1145), which discourages a party from incurring excessive costs. The application of this tariff, however, also bears negative consequences, for it implies that the winning party always incurs some costs, even if the claim was not or should not have been seriously contested by the other party.

Spontane harmonisatie in het contracten- en consumentenrecht

Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.