European Consumer Protection Theory and Practice

This volume analyses the theory and practice of European consumer protection in the context of consolidation initiatives seen, inter alia, in the revision of the Consumer Acquis, the Draft Common Frame of Reference and the proposal for an EU Consumer Rights Directive. The issues addressed are all the more significant given the revisions to the proposed Directive, the appointment of an 'Expert Group on a Common Frame of Reference' and the Commission's 2010 Green Paper on progress towards a European Contract Law. The contributions to this volume point to the arrival of a contested moment in EU consumer protection, questioning the arrival of the 'empowered' consumer and uncovering the fault lines between consumer protection and other goals. What emerges is a model of poly-contextual EU consumer protection law, a model that challenges the assumptions in both the 2010 Green Paper and the revised proposed Consumer Rights Directive.

Introduction James Devenney and Mel Kenny; Part I. Consumer Protection Strategies and Mechanisms in the EU: 1. From minimal to full to 'half' harmonisation Norbert Reich; 2. Comment: the future of EU consumer law - the end of harmonisation? Christian Twigg-Flesner; 3. Two levels, one standard? The multi-level regulation of consumer protection in Europe Vanessa Mak; 4. A modernisation for European consumer law? Cristina Poncibò; 5. Effective enforcement of consumer law: the comeback of public law and criminal law Peter Rott; 6. E-consumers and effective protection: the online dispute resolution system Immaculada Barral-Viñals; 7. Unfair terms and the draft common frame of reference: the role of non-legislative harmonisation and administrative co-operation? James Devenney and Mel Kenny; Part II. Conceptualising Vulnerability: 8. The definition of consumers in EU consumer law Bastian Schüller; 9. Recognising the limits of transparency in EU consumer law Chris Willett and Martin Morgan-Taylor; 10. The best interests of the child and EU consumer law and policy: a major gap between theory and practice? Amandine Garde; 11. Protecting consumers of gambling services: some preliminary thoughts on the relationship with European consumer protection law Alan Littler; Part III. Contextualising Consumer Protection in the EU: 12. Consumer protection and overriding mandatory rules in the new Rome I regulation Christopher Bisping; 13. Determining the applicable law for breach of competition claims in the Rome II regulation and the need for effective consumer collective redress Lorna Gillies; 14. Horse sales: the problem of consumer contracts from a historical perspective Warren Swain; 15. The role of private litigation in market regulation: beyond 'legal origins' Axel Halfmeier; 16. Advertising, free speech and the consumer Paul Wragg; 17. Are consumer rights human rights? Monika Jagielska and Mariusz Jagielski; 18. Consumer protection in a normative context: the building blocks of a consumer citizenship practice Jim Davies; 19. Recommended changes to the definitions of 'auction' and 'public auction' in the proposal for a directive on consumer rights Christine Reifa; 20. Consumer law regulation in the Czech Republic in the context of EU law: theory and practice Blanka Tomančáková; 21. Resistance towards the unfair terms directive in Poland: the interaction between the consumer acquis and a post-socialist legal culture Rafał Mańko; Part IV. Conclusions: 22. European consumer protection: theory and practice Mel Kenny and James Devenney.

James Devenney is Professor of Commercial Law at the Law School, University of Exeter.
Mel Kenny is Reader in Commercial Law at Leicester Law School.